Did you know the candy was made exclusively for the armed forces?
Here's some trivia for Veterans Day: M&M's started out as a military ration.
The reason why has to do with that famous slogan -- they melt in your mouth, not in your hand.
The famous chocolate morsels -- now made in Hackettstown -- made their debut in 1941, produced at a Mars Co. factory in Newark. First packaged in cardboard tubes, they were exclusively sold to the military because they were heat-resistant and easy to transport.
Clik here to view.
A vintage ad shows M&M's role as an easy-to-transport military ration. (Courtesy Mars Chocolate North America) Batches of them were produced weekly at the Newark factory, and they became publicly available after wartime quotas were lifted in 1945, according to the company, now Mars Chocolate North America. Their success led to the opening of the Hackettstown plant in 1958.
In part to mark the 75th anniversary of M&M's, the company is donating $750,000 worth of treats to Operation Gratitude and the USO.
Earlier this year, the company let media tour the Hackettstown factory.
Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @type2supernovak and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
