Chocolate lovers around the world have been savoring an exciting array of M&M’s flavors lately—from gooey caramel centers to creamy peanut butter bites—breathing new life into this beloved candy brand. Along with tasty innovations, M&M’s made headlines in 2023 when they revamped their iconic candy characters to better reflect today’s values of diversity and inclusion, catching the eye of fans across generations. But behind all the colorful fun and flavor, there’s an intriguing story that many might not know—one that TikTok user Claire Dinhut recently brought into the spotlight.
Claire, a content creator from London, took to the popular video platform to share the fascinating origin of the name “M&M,” revealing that it stands for the last names of two pivotal figures in the candy’s history: Forrest Mars Sr. and Bruce Murrie. These two men weren’t just business partners; they were chocolate industry royalty, hailing from families that helped shape the confectionery world as we know it today.
Bruce Murrie was the son of William Murrie, a top executive at Hershey, one of the largest and oldest chocolate manufacturers in the United States. Meanwhile, Forrest Mars Sr. was the son of Frank C. Mars, who founded the Mars company, another titan of the candy industry. Their partnership combined the expertise and resources of two chocolate dynasties, leading to the creation of the candy-coated chocolates that quickly became a household favorite.
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