  
 M&M's are candy-coated pieces of milk chocolate with the letter "m" printed on them, produced by Mars, Incorporated. Popular in the United States, several variations of the candies exist, including plain milk chocolate, peanut, peanut butter, dark chocolate (with and without peanuts), and almond. First produced in 1941, the candies were originally manufactured in brown, yellow, orange, red, green, and violet. Tan replaced violet in 1949. Blue replaced tan in 1995. The letter "m" on each candy is a vegetable dye printed using a process similar to offset printing.
Forrest Mars, Sr., founder of the Mars Company, got the idea for the confection in the 1930s during the Spanish Civil War when he saw soldiers eating chocolate pellets with a hard shell surrounding the inside, preventing them from melting.
The practicality of the candies during World War II caused an increase in production.
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