M&M’s is dropping two colors, and Gen X won’t even flinch
Blue and brown are getting cut when the new natural-dye M&M’s launch in August. But blue didn’t exist until 1995, and red once vanished for a decade, so older fans have seen this movie before.
M&M’s is about to look a little different, and two colors are getting left behind.
When the candy launches a new artificial-dye-free version this August, for its 85th birthday, the bag will be missing blue and brown. The other four — red, orange, yellow, and green — made the cut.
If that sounds like a big deal, it kind of is. But it also isn’t, depending on how old you are.
Why blue and brown are getting cut
It comes down to one tricky color.
Mars, the company that makes M&M’s, has been working to swap out artificial dyes for natural ones. Red and yellow were easy — turmeric and beets do the job. But blue was a nightmare.
To make blue without the artificial dye, Mars has to use something called spirulina, a blue-green algae powder. It’s pricey. It costs over $100 a pound compared to about $10 for turmeric, and it gums up the factory machines. The spray nozzles clog. There’s even a buildup that can become a safety problem.
And here’s the weird part: brown needs a little blue mixed in to look right. So when blue became a headache, brown went down with it. Two colors, one problem.
Why this is happening at all
The short version, kept simple and straight.
The government has been pushing food companies to drop artificial dyes, pointing to studies that link them to hyperactivity in some kids. The FDA still says the approved dyes are safe. Either way, a lot of big brands are switching to natural colors, and Mars is one of them.
Mars actually promised to do this back in 2016, then backed off when it decided shoppers didn’t care. This time it’s following through, at least for four of the six colors.
Gen X is sitting this one out
Here’s the part that makes longtime fans shrug.
If you’re old enough, you know M&M’s have changed before, and nobody died. Blue M&M’s didn’t even exist until 1995. Before that, the lineup had a tan M&M, and blue replaced it after a public vote. So anyone who grew up in the ‘70s or ‘80s never had blue in the first place.
Red has an even wilder history. Mars pulled red M&M’s all the way back in 1976, after a scare about a totally different red dye that wasn’t even in the candy. Red didn’t come back until 1987. Kids spent eleven years with no red M&M’s and somehow survived.
So for Gen X, “they’re getting rid of two colors” lands like a rerun. They’ve already lived through a missing red and a world with no blue. Losing brown and blue for a while is Tuesday.
What happens next
The good news for anyone actually attached to blue: it’s not gone forever.
Mars says blue and brown aren’t being killed off, they’re just not ready yet. The plan is to get all six colors made with natural dyes by 2028. The new four-color bags show up first on Amazon this August, then roll out wider.
So the candy bowl’s going to look a little different for a couple of years. Fewer colors, same M&M’s. And if history is any guide, people will grumble for a week and then go right back to eating them by the handful. They always do.
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Hat Tips:
The Wall Street Journal, via Fox Business and NewsNation (June 2026), verified for the blue-and-brown cut, the August launch, the spirulina cost and factory problems, and the Mars executive’s “messing with an 85-year-old icon” comment
The Daily Beast (June 19, 2026), verified for the four-color launch lineup, the 100-plus employees on the project, and the 2028 full-color goal
NewsNation and Fox Business (June 2026), verified for blue being introduced in 1995, the 2016 reversal, and the dye-rule background
Candy industry history records, verified for red M&M’s being pulled in 1976 and returning in 1987, and the tan-to-blue switch in 1995