M&M’s and skittles are among the most popular candies in the US, regardless of the consumer’s age. If you have a handful of these snacks, it could be tricky to tell the difference due to their close similarities. But, there are some unique differences that we will discuss. Here is an M&M’s vs. Skittles Candy: Comparative Guide.
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What is the difference between M&M’s candy? These snacks look identical but have different flavors, appearances, and nutritional values. Knowing their differences will help you make the right choice when shopping.
This post will discuss the M&Ms vs. Skittles Candy: Comparative Guide.
M&Ms vs. Skittles Candy
The M&M’s and Skittles Candy may look similar, but they are different in their taste, ingredient, manufacturers, and appearance. In this section, we will discuss these differences.
1. Taste
The original M&M’s candy has a sweet chocolate filling. The candy has coated shells with different food colors, but they all have the same taste regardless of the shell color. Although, people sometimes assume they have different tastes because of the colors.
Unlike M&M’s, skittles have different fruity flavors, depending on the color. Yellow Skittles have a lemon flavor; purple has a grape flavor; orange has an orange flavor; green tastes like green apples; red Skittles have a strawberry flavor.
2. Appearance
M&M’s have a button-like shape and different colors. Each candy has a printed white letter “m” on one side. The candy has a chocolate filling, but the shell may have a yellow, purple, orange, or red color.
The Skittles are similar to the M&M’s, with a button-like shape but the letter “S” on one side. Skittles have different colors, green, purple, yellow, red, orange, and blue, available only in the UK.
3. Nutritional Information
Generally, candies are not healthy snacks. But again, knowing the nutritional content of different candies will assist you in making a good choice, depending on your needs. The standard M&M package weighs 47.9g. That package contains 9g fats, 5mg cholesterol, 35mg sodium (salt), 35g carbohydrates, 1g dietary fiber, 31g sugars, and 2 g proteins.
A Skittles package has more grams as it weighs 61.5g. This package contains 2.5g fats, 20mg sodium, 56g Carbohydrates, 0g dietary fiber, 45g sugars, and 0g proteins.
4. Manufacturer
Mars Inc. has been the manufacturer of M&M’s candy since 1941. That year, the candy was available in violet, orange, brown, green, yellow, and red. The main goal of candy makers was to produce candies that could not withstand the hot temperatures but melted in the mouth. That is why the M&M’s candy has a hard shell but melts in your mouth.
The Wrigley Company manufactures and markets Skittles candies. There is an assumption that Mr. Skittles, a British man, got the idea about colored candies as he looked at the rainbow. The production of multi-colored candies began in Britain in 1974, and five years later, the candy spread to North America.
5. Ingredients
The M&M’s and Skittles share some components. Here is a list of the elements you will find in both candies.
- Sugar
- Corn syrup
- Dextrin
- Natural and artificial flavors
- Colors
M&M’s Ingredients
The original M&M’s candy contains:
- Cornstarch
- Salt
- Skimmed Milk
- Chocolate
- Soy Lecithin
- Palm oil
- Gum acacia
- Milk Fat
- Dextrin
- Lactose
Skittles Ingredients
- Hydrogenated palm oil
- Citric Acid
- Carnauba wax
- Sodium Citrate
- Modified corn starch
- Titanium Dioxide
How Skittles Affect Your Teeth
Citric acid used to manufacture Skittles gives the candy a sweet, sour taste that makes the candy more popular with kids. However, high citric acid harms your teeth by dissolving and breaking down the enamel if you consume it frequently.
Citric acid also harms your tongue, making it sore and painful, and overeating sour candies can cause the acid to eat away your tongue’s top layer.
Do you Get Energy from Eating Skittles?
Yes. Skittles contains glucose and some low fructose level which are the perfect combination for providing your body with energy. The candy may lack the essential ingredients for athletes, but it’s still good.
Different Skittles Flavors.
There is a wide range of Skittles flavors in the market. They include:
- Bright side flavor Skittles
- Wild berry flavor Skittles
- Sour flavor skittles
- Tropical flavor skittles
- Dark side flavor Skittles
- Sweet heat flavor Skittles
- Original flavor skittles
- Sweet and sour flavor Skittles
Are Nuts Used to Produce M&M’s?
Plain M&M’s package warns that the product may contain peanuts due to sharing equipment during production. If you are allergic to peanuts, you should avoid using this product. But, since so many options are still available, you can still find another snack substitute to enjoy.
Bugs Used in Skittles
In 2009, gelatin, a protein made from animal cartilage, was used to bind the candy. Carmine is a red dye processed from an insect’s cochineal scale and helps manufacture the red strawberry-flavored Skittles.
There is also shellac wax, produced by Kerria Lacca, a lac insect. Shellac wax acts as a coat to seal the food and avoid transferring dye colors from the Skittles candy to your hands. Luckily, skittles have stopped using gelatin and shellac since 2019, so it’s ideal for vegans.
M&Ms Success
It’s no doubt that M&M’s is among the most successful candy brands of all time. Why is it so successful? M&M’s has stayed in the market for 75 years thanks to its continuous marketing and product innovation. Whenever they develop a new product, the company invites its consumers to assist in selecting their preferred colors.
Again, it has a catchy slogan “Melts in your mouth, not in your hand.” This slogan may attract new clients who want to experiment with how the product melts in their mouths.
Do M&Ms Dissolve In Water?
When you put M&M’s candy in water, the coated color comes off, leaving the candy with a chocolate color. The colored layer is a mixture of colors and sugars that dissolves when you put it in water, and the sweets will dissolve faster if you use warm water.
Bottom Line.
M&M’s and Skittles Candy have a button shape and different colors, such as green, orange, and yellow. But M&M’s is a product of Mars Inc, while Skittles is a product of the Wrigley Company, containing different ingredients and flavors. M&M’s taste more chocolate, while Skittles have a fruit flavor, depending on the color.