Mars, the maker of M&M’s, will
discontinue the use of artificial colors in their food during the course of
five years. Mars said that artificial colors are not risky for humans, however,
many people want products to contain natural ingredients. Mars wants to keep
the bright colors of its M&M’s by using natural ingredients. Mars would
like to discontinue the use of artificial colors on many of their “human food”
brands as well as its “pet” brands.
Mars Inc. wants to follow the steps of many companies that are getting rid of artificial colors and using more natural ingredients. Many brands such as Kraft Foods Inc., Nestle SA, General Mills Inc., and Hershey’s have already tried to remove artificial colors in their food.
The reason I picked this article is because I am very interested in the food industry. I think this is very relevant to marketing because it can be a huge risk for the company to discontinue the use of artificial flavors. This could make the product taste different or simply have a different color or consistency, which some of the customers will not like. On the other hand, this can attract a new group of customers. This change could be attractive to people who tend to buy “healthier” products containing natural ingredients. Even though the Food and Drug Administration approve the coloring Mars Inc. uses for their M&M’s, many people think that this type of coloring will have serious effects in their future health.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/mars-to-phase-out-artificial-colors-in-m-ms-other-foods-1454711099
This is great marketing for them, but they need to be sure to advertise them keeping the coloring. Many people like one color of the M&M's and will discontinue to use their product if they do not have that certain color. Love the idea though!
ReplyDeleteI think this is great, removing artificial coloring from products these days is becoming extremely important to consumers, personally working in the beverage industry as a marketer people LOVE that our product doesn't have artificial flavoring or colors, smart move on Mars.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great example of an already successful brand remaining open to growth and change. Stagnation can be very detrimental to established companies and removing artificial colors from their product shows that Mars is paying attention to the all-natural trend that is flooding the food market.
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