M&M’s is quietly eliminating two colors from its iconic lineup

There’s a sticky situation at the candy factory.

Don’t be surprised if a future pack of M&M’s looks a bit less colorful than before. The legendary candy brand promised to eliminate artificial dyes from the chocolatey morsels, but it’s having trouble with the blue and brown hues. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, M&M’s execs revealed that the process has been costly and, unfortunately, not easy.

Mars, the maker of M&M’s, was able to create red, orange, and yellow with natural ingredients like turmeric and beets. Mars found a natural dye for green M&M’s too, but could not find a suitable replacement for its blue dye. The candymaker tested using spirulina, a blue-green algae, as a potential source for blue, but it proved to be a logistical headache. As a result, blue—and brown, which surprisingly uses a lot of blue dye—will be phased out. 

Why M&M’s Is Having Trouble

Right now, Blue 1 gives the blue M&M its deep, vibrant color. ​Replicating that color with natural ingredients has proven almost impossible. In fact, Mars exec Claire Hewitt told the Wall Street Journal that the undertaking has been “the hardest thing” she’s had to do in her professional life.

Spirulina is causing problems because it comes in a powder form that doesn’t mix well with liquid ingredients. The resulting mixture had a gloopy consistency that kept clogging up machines, which forced Mars to start making costly equipment upgrades. It will take a while for the changes to get up and running, which means Mars will release its dye-free M&M’s with only four colors: red, yellow, orange, and green.

When Will the Change Roll Out?

Starting in August, the dye-free M&M’s will be sold on Amazon, minus blue and brown. ​If the factory upgrades go according to plan, candy lovers will see the full all-natural lineup sometime in 2028.

In an email, a company spokesperson promised that existing varieties of M&M’s will still be available in stores. M&M’s will also continue to feature all of its iconic red, yellow, orange, green, blue, and brown characters on packaging. In other words, don’t fret: The legacy version will stick around—at least for now.

Read the original article on Simply Recipes