You’ve seen it a thousand times. It’s sitting in your kitchen cabinet, or maybe it’s staring at you from a vending machine while you wait for a flight. The m and m candy logo is basically wallpaper in our lives. It’s just a lowercase "m." Simple. Unpretentious. But if you think it’s just a random font choice, you’re missing the massive corporate war and the stroke of genius that kept these chocolates in GI rucksacks during World War II.
Honestly, the "m" wasn't even there at the start. When Forrest Mars Sr. saw Spanish Civil War soldiers eating chocolate pellets encased in a hard sugar shell, he knew he had a hit. The shell kept the chocolate from melting. Brilliant. But by 1941, when the candy hit the U.S. market, it was just a plain candy. No branding on the shell.
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Then the imitators arrived.
The 1950s Shift and the "M" That Saved the Brand
Success breeds copycats. By the late 1940s, everyone wanted a piece of the candy-coated action. To protect the brand, the company decided they needed a literal mark of authenticity. In 1950, the first black "m" was printed on the candies. It looked a bit different back then—sharper, more utilitarian. It was a stamp of quality.
It actually worked.
They even ran an ad campaign that told people to "Look for the m on every piece." It’s kinda wild to think about a time when you had to remind people which candy they were eating, but the strategy was bulletproof. By 1954, the color of the m and m candy logo on the chocolate itself changed from black to white. That white "m" is the one we know today. It’s stayed remarkably consistent for over seventy years. While other brands go through mid-life crises and overhaul their logos every five years, Mars Inc. realized that once you own a letter of the alphabet, you don't give it back.
Who is the second M anyway?
Most people assume M&M stands for "Mars and Mars" or something similar. Not quite. The first "M" is Forrest Mars Sr. The second "M" belongs to Bruce Murrie. He was the son of William Murrie, the president of Hershey’s.
Why include a Hershey guy?
Supply chains. During the war, chocolate was rationed. By partnering with Murrie, Mars secured a steady supply of Hershey’s chocolate. The m and m candy logo represents a business marriage of convenience that eventually turned into a solo empire for Mars after he bought out Murrie’s 20% stake in 1949. The name stayed. The logos stayed. The partnership? Not so much.
The Evolution of the Wordmark
While the "m" on the candy is the icon, the wordmark—the actual "M&M's" logo on the bag—has its own weird history. It’s undergone subtle tweaks that most people don't notice unless they're design nerds.
In the 1970s, the logo had a very "brown" feel. Everything was brown. The chocolate, the bags, the aesthetic. The font was a bit more slab-like. By the 2000s, things got cleaner. The current logo uses a custom typeface that’s loosely based on something like ITC Lubalin Graph or a modified Futura, but with those rounded, friendly edges that scream "eat me."
The ampersand (&) is the secret hero of the design. It’s smaller than the Ms, tucked right in the middle, creating a visual bridge. If you look at the packaging from the 1990s compared to 2024, the shadow effects have come and gone. We’re currently in a "flat design" era. The 2D look is king. It makes the m and m candy logo easier to render on smartphone screens and digital ads.
The Spokescandies Controversy
You can’t talk about the logo without talking about the characters. For decades, the "M" was just a letter. Then came the anthropomorphic candies. Red is the sarcastic leader. Yellow is the lovable doofus. They literally wear the logo on their chests like superheroes.
But things got weird recently.
In 2022, Mars decided to "reimagine" the characters to be more inclusive. They swapped the Green M&M's go-go boots for sneakers. They gave the Brown M&M lower heels. The internet, predictably, lost its mind. People were arguing about candy footwear on national news.
Eventually, the company "paused" the characters and brought in Maya Rudolph, only to reveal it was all a Super Bowl stunt. The logo itself remained untouched through all of this. It proves a point: the characters are the flare, but the m and m candy logo is the foundation. You can change a mascot’s shoes, but you don't touch the "m."
Why the brown bag?
Ever wonder why the original M&M's bag is brown? It seems counterintuitive for a colorful candy. It’s a legacy move. It highlights the chocolate. It also provides a high-contrast background for the white m and m candy logo and the colorful candies scattered across the front. It’s one of the few instances where a drab color works perfectly for a fun product.
Design Specs: What Makes it Work?
If you're a designer looking at the m and m candy logo, there are three things happening:
- Lowercase Power: Lowercase letters feel approachable. An uppercase "M" is a mountain; it’s corporate (think Motorola or Marriott). A lowercase "m" is a snack.
- Asymmetry: The way the "m" is printed on the candy is never perfect. That slight irregularity makes it feel more "real" and less like a sterile, factory-produced widget, even though they make millions of them an hour.
- Contrast: White on brown/blue/red. It’s the highest level of legibility.
The NASA Connection
The m and m candy logo even made it into space. In 1981, M&M's were chosen by the crew of the first space shuttle, Columbia, to be part of their food supply. Why? Because they don't make a mess. No crumbs to float into the electronics. Just self-contained chocolate units.
NASA didn't want to show favoritism, so they officially called them "candy-coated chocolates," but the astronauts knew. The "m" was right there.
Spotting a Fake
Believe it or not, there is a "counterfeit" market for everything, including candy. Authentic M&M's have a very specific "m" printing process. The ink is vegetable-based and applied using a process similar to offset printing.
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If you see an "m" that is perfectly centered on every single piece, it might actually be a knock-off. On real M&M's, the logo is often slightly off-center because of the speed of the conveyor belts. It’s a quirk of the manufacturing process that has become a brand hallmark.
Understanding the Visual Language
To truly appreciate the m and m candy logo, you have to look at the psychology of the colors surrounding it. The brand doesn't just use any red or any yellow. They use specific pantones designed to trigger appetite. When that white "m" is slapped on top, it acts as a focal point. It’s the "eye" of the candy.
- The Red: Usually Pantone 185. It’s aggressive and energetic.
- The Blue: Pantone 286. It was voted in by the public in 1995, replacing the old tan color. The "m" pops hardest against the blue.
- The Brown: It’s the color of the product itself. Honest. Simple.
Actionable Insights for Brand Building
Looking at the success of the m and m candy logo gives us a few clear takeaways for any business or creator.
- Protect the core: Mars didn't change the letter "m" for 75 years. They changed the bags, the characters, and the flavors (Prestel, Peanut Butter, Mint), but the core identifier remained untouched.
- Simplicity scales: A logo that can be printed on something the size of a fingernail and still be recognizable is a design masterpiece. If your logo doesn't work in black and white or at a tiny scale, it’s too complex.
- Own a "Mental Slot": When you think of a lowercase letter on a circle, you think of this brand. They've successfully colonized a tiny corner of the human brain.
- Lean into the history: Use your origin story. The fact that the "m" was a mark of "authenticity" against 1950s knock-offs is still a cool story today. It adds "weight" to the brand.
Next time you tear open a bag, take a second to look at that little white letter. It’s not just ink. It’s the result of a chocolate monopoly, a wartime partnership, and some of the smartest defensive branding in the history of American commerce.
If you're looking to dive deeper into the world of brand design, start by analyzing your favorite childhood snacks. You'll find that the ones that lasted—the Oreos, the Reeses, the M&M's—are the ones that picked a visual lane and never veered out of it. They don't follow trends; they just exist until they become the standard.
Check the packaging on your next purchase. See how the logo interacts with the nutritional info and the "fun" elements. You'll start to see the grid lines and the strategy behind the sugar.
Focus on the "m." It's been there since your grandparents were kids, and it’ll likely be there for your grandkids too. Consistency isn't boring; it’s profitable.