M&M's Have Harnessed Caramel Technology

“After years of development, M&M’s now has the proprietary technology to enter the soft and chewy category," Mars executive Hank Izzo tells Fortune. Thanks to our nation's hardest-working candy scientists*, M&M's with caramel centers will hit store shelves next May. After years of trying, including the designing of new machinery, Mars finally figured out how to successfully get caramel into an M&M, making "soft and chewy" the fourth category of M&M (behind "smooth," "nutty," and "crispy"), CNN reports. Izzo says caramel is "extremely trendy" right now, and caramel M&M's are a big moment for the brand. "We want to be part of this category," he says. Mars has built a $100 million factory in Kansas and will hire 70 new employees to make the new variety.

*Ed. Note: Scientists who study candy, not scientists made of candy. (More M&Ms stories.)