Mars Inc. is investing millions to launch a MAHA (Make America Healthy Again)-compliant M&M’s line made without artificial dyes. Launching on Amazon, the reformulated candies will use beetroot and turmeric for red, orange, and yellow, but will temporarily exclude blue and brown due to severe factory manufacturing hurdles.
The “MAHA” Makeover Breakdown
- The Catalyst: Mars is responding to growing pressure from U.S. health officials and the MAHA movement to remove synthetic food dyes (such as Red 40, Yellow 5, and Blue 1).
- What’s Changing: New packets will feature red, orange, and yellow shells colored entirely with natural fruit juices and vegetable extracts.
- The Missing Colors: The popular blue and brown M&M’s are being left out of the initial release. Recreating the classic cerulean blue requires massive amounts of spirulina (an algae-based superfood), which gums up machinery and threatens food safety. Since brown shells rely on a mix containing blue, they have also been scrapped for now.
- When to Expect Them: The dye-free mix will be sold exclusively through Amazon. Meanwhile, Mars is upgrading over 300 machines across its plants to handle natural dyes, with a goal to bring back all six classic colors naturally by 2028.
Would you like to know more about:
- The health arguments surrounding artificial versus natural food dyes?
- How Mars’s $2 billion overall U.S. manufacturing upgrades are affecting other candy lines?
- Which other Mars Wrigley candies are going dye-free?
