M&M’s will debut a version made without artificial dyes this August, but the iconic candy will be missing two of its classic colors: blue and brown. The launch marks a milestone in the brand’s 85-year history and reflects mounting pressure from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” campaign to remove synthetic dyes from food.
Mars researchers successfully replicated red, orange, and yellow M&M’s using natural ingredients like beets and turmeric. The challenge came with blue and brown—colors that proved far more complex and expensive to recreate using natural alternatives.
The core issue is spirulina, a concentrated blue-green algae powder that Mars selected as the best natural substitute for the artificial dye Blue 1. According to Fox Business, spirulina extract can cost between $9 and $20 per pound, compared to roughly $10 per pound for traditional artificial dyes. The raw supplement can reach up to $20 per pound at wholesalers. By contrast, turmeric—used for yellow M&M’s—runs $9 to $11 per pound. This cost disparity, combined with production challenges, prompted Mars to temporarily drop both colors from the August launch rather than delay the entire product.
The new naturally dyed M&M’s will be sold exclusively on Amazon starting in August. Mars has committed to offering all six colors with natural dyes by 2028, giving the company time to solve the spirulina challenge. The company has already begun upgrading more than 300 machines across its manufacturing plants to accommodate the new ingredient, which has proven difficult to work with in production settings.
The August launch comes as food companies face intensifying scrutiny over artificial dyes. Mars has been under particular pressure after initially backing away from a 2016 pledge to remove all artificial colors from its global portfolio by 2021. That commitment was walked back after consumer research showed many customers preferred the brightness and familiarity of the original colors. The current shift reflects a changed landscape: in April 2025, the FDA announced plans to remove all petroleum-based dyes from U.S. food by 2028, and major companies including Kraft Heinz and PepsiCo have already committed to phasing out synthetic dyes across their portfolios.
Sources
- Fox Business — August launch date, spirulina cost figures, Amazon exclusivity, and 2028 timeline
- Wall Street Journal — Mars spending millions on reformulation, pressure from RFK Jr.’s MAHA campaign, natural dye challenges, and 85-year milestone context
- IndexBox — Detailed cost comparison of spirulina versus traditional dyes and turmeric pricing
