Say goodbye (for now) to two iconic M&M’s colors

Sometime soon, your bag of M&M’s may be missing two notable colors, thanks to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda.

The Wall Street Journal reported on June 18 that Mars, Incorporated, the owner and maker of M&M’s, will be removing both blue and brown as part of its mission to phase out synthetic food dyes for natural alternatives by August. Funnily enough, the blue and brown M&M’s are arguably the most confident and defiant of the entire bunch. Blue is well-known for being the narcissistic yet chill “cool guy” (his tagline is literally, “I woke up like this”), while Brown prides herself on being the boss rather than bossy.

Alas, the decision to cut the colors wasn’t based on personality but, rather, specific ingredients. Mars was able to recreate its red, orange, yellow and green M&M colors with at-scale natural dyes, WSJ specified. But issues arose when emulating the blue and brown colors, which both require large amounts of Blue No. 1. The natural option, a blue-green microalgae called spirulina, proved to be too costly and thick in consistency, causing factory equipment to clog during candy production.

“When we have identified fully effective, scalable solutions across the entire portfolio, we will share additional item commitments and timelines,” Mars said, per WSJ.

The new naturally colored M&M’s lineup, minus blue and brown, will be available exclusively through Amazon. Mars said it hopes to have FD&C-free M&M’s in all six original colors by 2028.

While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the greater food industry don’t have a formal agreement to remove artificial colorings, several major companies, including PepsiCo, Tyson Foods and General Mills, decided to do so anyway in accordance with Kennedy’s ongoing efforts to eliminate such dyes. The Health and Human Services Secretary, along with his supporters, claim that synthetic dyes are both unnecessary and harmful, pointing to reports linking these dyes to behavioral problems in children.

Last April, the FDA announced that it would phase out petroleum-based synthetic dyes by the end of 2026. The eight dyes being targeted include Red No. 40, Yellow No. 5, Yellow No. 6, Blue No. 1, Blue No. 2, Green No. 3, Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B.