M&M’s are among the most recognizable candies in the world, loved for their colorful shells and delicious chocolate centers. Millions of people enjoy them at movie theaters, birthday parties, and family gatherings without giving much thought to their familiar little letters. However, those two M’s have a fascinating history that goes back more than eighty years, to a business partnership that changed the candy industry forever.

The initials are not random, nor were they chosen simply because they sounded catchy. They represent the surnames of two businessmen whose families were already connected to the American chocolate industry. In 1941, Forrest Mars Sr. joined forces with Bruce Murrie to develop a candy unlike anything most people had seen before. Their idea came from a practical problem involving chocolate, heat, and portability.
But the partnership had a surprising purpose, and the inspiration behind the candy came from an unexpected place. What happened next would turn their creation into a worldwide sensation…