When the company was founded it was M&M Limited. The two 'M's represent the names of Forrest E. Mars Sr., the founder of Newark Company, and Bruce Murrie, son of Hershey Chocolate's president William F. R. Murrie, who had a 20 percent share in the product.
What were M&Ms originally called?
They named the candy M&M, which stood for “Mars & Murrie.” The deal gave Murrie a 20% stake in the candy, but this stake was later bought out by Mars when chocolate rationing ended at the end of the war in 1948.
Why were purple M&Ms discontinued?
Violet was discontinued and replaced with tan in the late 1940s. In 1976, Mars eliminated red-colored M&M's because of health concerns over the dye amaranth (FD&C Red #2), which was a suspected carcinogen, and replaced them with orange M&M's.
What is the rarest M&M color?
Brown
Are there purple M&Ms?
Purple is the color of kings, and you can give your guests the royal treatment by offering them wedding favors or birthday party favors filled with purple bulk M&M'S.