M&M's Helps Celebrate the Subway Centennial

On October 27, 2004, MasterFoods, makers of America’s most famous candy, unveiled a limited edition of M&M's in honor of the New York City Subway Centennial.

As part of the ongoing celebration of the subway, M&M’s was proclaimed the official candy of the Centennial. M&M’s NYC Subway 100 Mix, a limited edition eight-ounce package of the world’s most colorful chocolate candies, features M&M route indicators for several subway lines. The candy can be purchased at the New York Transit Museum in Brooklyn Heights, the Museum Gallery Annex at Grand Central, and the NBC Experience Store in Rockefeller Center. It retails for $8 per bag.

“There’s only one NYC Subway, and there’s only one candy like M&M’s,” said Peter S. Kalikow, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, who was joined by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Lieutenant Governor Mary O. Donohue when he announced the new mix. “To be associated with the number one icon in candy is an honor, and I know our riders will truly eat these chocolates up.”

And eat them up they have. In its first month on sale, transit buffs and chocolate lovers purchased over 400 bags of the colorful Centennial candies. “We were very excited to hear that M&M’s was making a special Subway Centennial Edition of its world renowned candy,” said Amy Hausmann, manager, Retail Product Development for the New York Transit Museum. “During the last month, the M&M’s NYC Subway 100 Mix has been one of our best sellers. People have a new fun way to enjoy the subway and celebrate its centennial.”

Sales associates at the Museum Gallery in Grand Central Terminal can’t seem to stock them fast enough. “I had one customer who came into the store and bought 12 bags of M&Ms,” said one sales associate. “One of the first questions we get is, ‘Where are the subway M&M’s?"

Part of the reason these iconic candies can’t stay on the shelves is because of the station domination advertising that can be seen in the Time Square Shuttle station and the media coverage that the partnership generated. “It is wonderful to see how successful our partnership with MasterFoods has become,” said NYC Transit President Lawrence G. Reuter. “There’s nothing sweeter than to walk through a station and see signage on the columns and walls depicting the very recognizable candy icons and congratulating the NYC Subway system on its 100th anniversary.”