Candy-Coated Chocolate War

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

06 Aug 2006 07:20 AM

There's a candy-coated war of words raging between two major chocolate makers and you stand to benefit... especially if you buy candy in bulk (I'm talking BIG purchases... measured in pounds, not ounces.) and are looking for a new way to advertise a major event.

In one corner: the candy that "melts in your mouth, not in your hand." Mars Inc., the maker of M&Ms, is unveiling a new plan called "My Branding," which will allow businesses to purchase vast amounts of M&M's with their corporate logos or other advertisements, such as slogans, seared on to the colorful chocolate treat. Basically, the candy maker is renting advertising space on the popular treat and hopes that companies or ordinary citizens looking to place bulk orders will take advantage of the sweet deal. The company already offers a candy branding line called "My M&Ms" targeted at people looking to say "I love you" or "It's a boy," in smaller quantities.

In the other corner: The Hershey Company and its new "Kissables" invasion. Hershey's has encroached on M&Ms' turf with the kiss-shaped chocolates in a hard candy coating. They too offer a branding option, which allows folks to come up with specific messages to be printed out on those little flags that stick out of the kiss's signature silver wrapping.

The maker of M&Ms wants to win this chocolate battle. To do so they are actively seeking companies that will order its chocolate candy in bulk for party favors or corporate gifts. To sweeten the offer the company is providing special pricing for the specially branded candy. After paying a set-up fee of $100, you can purchase personalized M&Ms for $22.50 to $30 per pound, depending on the order.

A company spokesperson says the "My M&Ms" line currently generates "between 800 and 1,000 orders a day from a database of about 250,000 customers." That doesn't include the ready-made message-bearing M&Ms that are already in retail stores.

I wonder how many M&Ms are in a pound?

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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