Why M&Ms Screwed Up with M&Ms Premiums

I checked out the Mocha flavor of the new M&Ms Premiums line recently. I had extremely high hopes, and looked forward to checking out the other flavors.

When you first see any of the Premiums, the first thing you notice is the beautiful colors on the shell - a mix of relevant colors for the flavor, making them both visually appealing, but also a natural extension of the look of a regular M&M.

Then you eat one (or three as it were). The flavor is pretty good actually, its a nice quality of chocolate (for a mass brand), and in this case the mocha flavor was present but not overwhelming.

The problem, and its a big one in my opinion, is not in the quality, beauty or flavor. The problem is that they took away the hard shell. There is no crunch, there is no texture contract between the shell and the inside, nothing. What the heck happened to "melts in your mouth, not in your hands"??? That shell is one, if not the, differentiator for M&Ms - the thing that has made them so unique, popular, classic. Why in the world would they change this.

Major strategic misstep Mars.

August 5, 2008

Why M&Ms Screwed Up with M&Ms Premiums