Mars Strips Blue and Brown From Natural M&M’s Lineup

The company successfully transitioned red, orange, yellow, and green to plant-based sources like turmeric and beets. Blue proved far more complex. Mars experimented with spirulina, a blue-green algae, but found the process prohibitively expensive and inefficient, requiring seven times the volume of the ingredient to achieve the target hue. Because brown relies on a base of blue pigment, it remains equally elusive under the new formulation standards.

This shift follows mounting pressure from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has pushed major food manufacturers to eliminate synthetic dyes. While the company has previously faced public scrutiny—most notably when it retracted a line of diverse 'spokescandies' following accusations of being overly progressive—this move represents a fundamental change to the product’s core identity. For now, the signature rainbow will shrink as the brand navigates the technical limitations of natural food science.