Mars is launching naturally dyed, “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA)-friendly M&M’s this August, initially available on Amazon. This massive operational pivot—spurred by pressure from the Trump administration and Health Secretary RFK Jr.—comes with a hefty price tag and missing colors.
How the MAHA Makeover Works
- Natural Ingredients: The brand’s food scientists use natural alternatives like beetroot and turmeric to create the red, yellow, and orange coatings.
- Missing Colors: Consumers will notice the absence of classic blue and brown in the new naturally dyed packs. Brown requires blue coloring to achieve its hue, meaning both were dropped for the initial release. Mars hopes to eventually offer all six colors naturally by 2028.
The Expensive Dye Problem
- The Spirulina Challenge: Mars intended to substitute their synthetic Blue 1 with spirulina, a concentrated blue-green algae.
- Cost Constraints: Spirulina is exceptionally expensive, costing between $20 to $100 per pound, a stark contrast to standard artificial dyes that cost roughly $10 per pound.
- Factory Disruption: The algae powder does not fully dissolve in water. This creates a gummy residue that routinely clogs spray nozzles and builds up in the company’s factory machinery. Upgrading hundreds of machines across their plants to process spirulina without destroying equipment has cost millions.
Would you like to know more about the other food brands adopting MAHA-friendly makeovers, or are you interested in how artificial vs. natural dyes impact shelf-life and taste? Let me know what you’d like to dive into!
