300 dpi CMYK, 27 layers 5.74"W x 2.9"H "Clipping Path" Printout @ 100% 5/30/2011 4:37 PM
Peanuts, coconut, mint and even pretzels.
M&Ms have been filled with plenty of things in their 75 year history but Mars has kept one of chocolate’s most popular companions away from its popular shelled-candy for years—until now.
Earlier this week, Mars announced a new addition to the M&Ms line-- a candy with a creamy caramel center covered in milk chocolate, decked out in a signature colorful shell. They’re calling it, what else but, M&Ms Caramel. The company says caramel will have a “mass appeal... as caramel is both traditional and trendy.”
With the new creamier center, M&Ms is introducing a fourth taste-sensation category for the candy: soft and chewy. Others include crispy with pretzel, smooth with milk and dark chocolate, and nutty with the ever popular Peanut M&Ms. The company has experimented with limited edition flavors in the past -- like mint, coffee and chili nut -- but not the fillings. It's calling the caramel addition one of the biggest launches in the brand's history.
"It was a big technological challenge for us," Hank Izzo, vice president of research and development of parent company Mars Chocolate, told CNN. "We never before had a M&M lentil with a true soft center, so we had to figure out how to not make the chocolate too sticky or too soft that it could collapse.”
Mars is certainly onto something big because as soon as news of the new item broke, the masses reacted with enthusiasm and rabid excitement.
But unfortunately for these M&Ms fans, the new release won’t even be out in stores in time for Halloween. Caramel M&M's are expected to hit the market May 2017.