TOPEKA, Kan. — Mars is investing millions of dollars and overhauling manufacturing processes to bring naturally colored M&M’s to market, underscoring the challenges food manufacturers face as they move away from synthetic dyes.
The company plans to launch a new line of M&M’s in August without artificial colors, but the initial offering will exclude two of the candy’s most recognizable colors: blue and brown. Mars has successfully replicated red, orange, yellow, and green M&M’s using natural ingredients, but recreating blue at commercial scale has proven far more difficult and expensive than anticipated.
The effort comes amid mounting pressure on food companies to eliminate synthetic color additives. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made removing artificial dyes a key component of his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, while several states have pursued restrictions on certain food additives.
For Mars, the project represents a significant investment in one of the world’s most recognizable confectionery brands. The company has assembled a team of roughly 100 employees across facilities in New Jersey, Tennessee, and Kansas to develop natural color solutions, with approximately one-quarter focused solely on developing a viable replacement for blue dye.
Mars said it was able to recreate red, orange, and yellow colors using ingredients such as beets and turmeric. Green was also successfully developed, though it requires some natural blue coloring. Blue itself remains the greatest challenge.
The company selected spirulina, a blue-green algae commonly marketed as a superfood, as the leading candidate to replace Blue 1. However, spirulina has introduced a range of manufacturing complications. Mars said the ingredient requires about seven times more colorant than synthetic blue dyes to achieve a comparable appearance and still yields a lighter shade than consumers expect from traditional blue M&M’s.
Beyond color performance, spirulina behaves differently during production. Unlike synthetic dyes, which arrive as liquids, spirulina is supplied as a powder that can foam when mixed into syrup solutions. The resulting mixture is thicker and more difficult to process, increasing the likelihood of clogged spray nozzles and uneven candy coatings.
The ingredient also leaves a sticky residue inside manufacturing equipment, requiring more frequent cleaning and creating potential food-safety concerns if buildup is not properly managed. To address these challenges, Mars is upgrading more than 300 machines across its M&M’s production network, including the installation of new mixing systems, motors, and enhanced cleaning equipment.
“It was a daunting situation,” said Anton Vincent, president of Mars Wrigley North America. “You’re messing with an 85-year-old icon.”
Brown M&M’s have also been difficult to reproduce because the color relies in part on blue pigments. Without a reliable natural blue source, Mars has been unable to consistently produce a natural brown version that meets its standards.
Company executives considered delaying the launch until all six traditional colors could be replicated, but ultimately decided to proceed with a four-color assortment. According to Mars, consumer testing showed no noticeable difference in taste between naturally colored and traditionally colored M&M’s.
The naturally colored products will initially be sold exclusively on Amazon, while traditional M&M’s will remain available through existing retail channels. Mars has said it aims to offer naturally colored versions in all six traditional colors by 2028, though the company has not indicated whether synthetic dyes will eventually be removed from the broader M&M’s portfolio.
The initiative highlights the broader challenges food manufacturers face as they respond to consumer demand and regulatory pressure for cleaner ingredient labels. While natural alternatives are increasingly available for colors such as red, yellow, and orange, blue remains one of the most difficult shades to produce because naturally occurring blue pigments are rare and often unstable in commercial food applications.
For Mars, solving that challenge has become one of the company’s most ambitious product reformulation efforts to date, requiring substantial investment, manufacturing upgrades, and years of research to preserve the appearance of one of America’s most iconic candy brands.
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