What’s in the Bag? An Evaluation of M & M’s

1. What’s in the Bag?An Evaluation of M & M’s Michelle Etzel 2009

2. Background • M&M’s were created in 1941 in the colors brown, yellow, red, green and violet and were popular due to practicality of the candies during World War II  • 1949 – tan replaced one of the colors • Red candies were eliminated in 1976 due to health concerns over the red dye. The M&M’s did not contain the risky dye, but they were replaced with orange candies instead. • By 1987, the public had forgotten the scare, and the red candies were reintroduced, but they also kept the orange colored M&M's.

3. Background • In 1995 consumers were invited to vote on which of blue, pink, or purple would replace the tan M&M's. • Blue was the winner, replacing tan in early 1995.  • 1990s - novelty M&M's were available in specialty stores, in 21 different colors. • In 2002, Mars solicited votes again to add a new color from three choices: aqua, pink, and purple. • Purple won, but was only featured for a limited time.

4. Does the Color Matter? • During the 2008 Valentine's Day season Mars introduced bags of all-green M&M's. due to urban folklore that green M&M’s were an aphrodisiac. • In July 2009, a study showed that a dye similar to that in blue M&M's showed benefits in helping paralyzed rats to walk again. • Consumers often have a “favorite” color, some even claim that different colors taste differently.

5. Color Distribution • Based on past information collected from the Mars Corporation, this information used to determine the distribution of colors in a sample.

6. Hypothesis & Methodology HYPOTHESIS • The color distribution of M&M’s is statistically similar. METHODOLOGY • 15 Fun Size bags of M&M’s were collected. • The quantity of each color of M&M’s was recorded. • The total number of M&M’s per bag was recorded. • Information then tested by ANOVA and other probability tests.

7. Color Distribution Actual Distribution Suggested Distribution Suggested Distributions based on information from Internet and previous studies. Actual distribution based on average amounts of 15 Fun Size Bags.

8. Data Collected for Fun Size Bags

9. Color Distribution per Fun Size Bag of M&M’s

10. Are they the same?

11. ANOVA • ANOVA tests were used to compare color distribution. • ANOVA tests were used because t-tests of group means do not apply with multiple variables

12. Conclusion • F score from data --- 4.65 • F score from tables, (3,12) at alpha 0.05 --- 8.74 • Since the F score from the data is less than the F score from the tables, this analysis suggests that: The populations are not statistically different.

13. Further Studies: Regular Bag

14. Conclusion • F score from data --- 2.367 • F score from tables, (3,9) at alpha = 0.5 --- 8.812 • Since the F score from the data is less than the F score from the tables, the information suggests that: The populations are not statistically different.

15. Conclusions • The populations are not statistically different, so the website information may not be accurate. • Larger sample and population sizes are necessary for more accurate information. • Determining consumer preferences in M&M’s would be an interesting follow-up study.