M&M’s Say Goodbye to Two Colors, But Not Forever

If you've ever sorted your M&M's by color before eating them, you may want to enjoy the blue ones while you still can.

According to a recent report from The Wall Street Journal, Mars is preparing to launch a new version of M&M's made without any artificial dyes this August.

The move comes as food manufacturers face increasing pressure from consumers and government officials, especially from U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services  Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to remove synthetic colors from popular products after they have been linked to adverse health effects.

Natural Dyes Pose Color Problems

The biggest challenge? Blue.

The Journal reports that Mars has spent years and millions of dollars trying to recreate the candy's signature colors using natural ingredients. While the company has made progress with several colors, blue has proven especially difficult to replicate at a large scale.

The brown coating used on brown M&M's also relies on some blue coloring, so both hues of the candies may be missing from the first naturally colored version.

Before anyone panics, this doesn't mean blue and brown M&M's are disappearing forever. The report says Mars hopes to eventually bring back all six classic colors using natural alternatives, with a goal of restoring the full rainbow by 2028.

Mars previously announced plans to expand consumer choice by introducing products made without FD&C synthetic colors while continuing to offer traditional versions in some cases.

M&M's have featured a variety of colors since their debut in the 1940s, but blue didn't join the lineup until 1995 after fans voted to replace tan M&M's in a nationwide promotion.

Now, more than 30 years later, blue may once again find itself on the sidelines, at least temporarily.