Mars to debut dye-free M&M's on Amazon in August

The maker of M&M's, Mars Inc., will launch a version of its iconic candy made without artificial dyes in August, marking a significant shift for the 85-year-old brand amid pressure from federal health officials. The new product will be sold exclusively through Amazon while the classic, artificially colored M&M's remain on shelves.

The move aligns the company with the Make America Healthy Again initiative championed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has urged major food corporations to eliminate synthetic color additives. Mars had previously pledged to remove artificial colors in 2016 but later reversed course, stating consumer preferences varied. Last year, the company announced it would pivot back to offering natural dye options.

Recreating the candy's signature colors using only natural ingredients proved to be a complex and costly technical challenge, according to company officials. While alternatives for red, orange, and yellow were found in ingredients like beetroot and turmeric, replicating the blue and brown shades was particularly difficult. The company explored using spirulina extract, a blue-green algae, as a substitute for blue dye but...