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.
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Posted by Bob Wallace at August 5, 2008 6:08 AM
DUDE YOU ARE NOT FREAKING KIDDING. What really bugs me is that not only is there no crunch, but the design makes it look like there will be a candy shell. And then the whole thing is squishy! Plus, M&Ms, the whole point of the candy shell was that it "melts in your mouth, not in your hand" - these suckers melt if I look at them too mean. Which, with that fake-o shell, I am liable to do.
The issue is the disconnect between what the consumers know/think/love about M&Ms and what they're experiencing with the new product. Because M&Ms have such a long-standing brand, and because that brand is made up of other attributes than just taste, that Premiums could cause them harm. I think the shell is as much what makes M&Ms special as the chocolate.
To your point, they didn't remove the originals, so its probably not the end of the world.
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