M&M’s Is Losing Two Of Its Most Iconic Colors

Major changes are underway at Mars, the maker of M&M’s. The company is phasing out synthetic food dyes across its candy lineup, and as a result, a couple of classic M&M colors are headed to the bench—at least temporarily.

Once the transition to natural food dyes is complete, blue and brown M&M’s will disappear from the mix, leaving only red, yellow, green, and orange.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mars said recreating red, orange, yellow, and green with natural ingredients like beets and turmeric proved relatively easy. Blue and brown, however, presented a much bigger challenge.

The company tested spirulina, a blue-green algae, to recreate the iconic blue M&M, but the ingredient remains too expensive to use at scale. Since brown relies on a blend of blue, red, and yellow, it also became too costly to produce naturally. Purple faces the same challenge because it also depends on blue pigments.

Mars will continue selling the original color lineup through 2028 while it works to develop cost-effective natural blue, brown, and purple food dyes. Once it cracks the formula, the company will likely phase out the original version entirely.

M&M’s isn’t the only candy brand making the switch. Hershey, Skittles, and Nestlé have also begun transitioning to natural food dyes. Doritos recently joined the movement with the launch of Simply NKD, an artificial dye-free version of its popular chips.

The industry-wide shift follows growing pressure from President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative, which has sparked debate among nutrition experts over its food policy priorities and health claims.

Artificial dye-free M&M’s will begin rolling out this August.