London's M&Ms megastore

Even if you’re not into the fun, colour and communal dancing, the Leicester Square store is worth a look just as a manifestation of our modern society
London's M&Ms megastore picture

We spent last year wondering what the deal was with Leicester Square; the city’s central hub hidden behind screens and under scaffolding. To the uninformed, a colossal M&M store was probably the last thing expected. While the rest of the country was being told to tighten their belts as the recession wore on, M&M’s World blossomed brash, humming and monstrous.

Why not though? In an age of unemployment and cuts, why not open a fantastic sweet shop in the centre of London? We all need a bit of colour and silliness, not to mention some imported cartoon fun, and if nothing else, M&M’s bring this to our capital. The store opened in June 2011, after the great popularity of sibling ventures in Las Vegas, Orlando, Florida and New York. It was part of Westminster City Council’s regeneration of the area, bringing Leicester Square closer to US centres such as Times Square, the base of the New York M&M’s world.

The aim is clearly kids and fun. The sheer size of the store is enough to pull most under 20s off the streets: taking up 35,000 square feet, the shop is big enough to fit 100 double decker buses. With the enormous shining glass windows, the huge M&M characters and the walls of rainbow M&M sweets, it has all the lure of Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. The enticement of the fairy tale exotic and modern forbidden. The 180 staff members all enter spiritedly into their role as M&M endorsers and the interior vibrates with the clapping, singing and dancing of young people.

You might look at an M&M and wonder just how just a modest shape can fill such a demanding venue. The answer is merchandise. You can enter the shop an ordinary citizen and come out more bedecked in corporate colour than a visitor to Disney land. Items on sale include T Shirts, kitchenware, jewellery, scarves, and of course, the chocolate itself. The store sells M&M’s in all colours and quantities, including a self-select option from a rainbow wall of chocolate.

M&Ms themselves are have been going since the early 1940’s. They are the brainchild of Mars Incorporation and the name’ M&M’ comes from the surnames of the founders – Forrest Mars and Bruce Murrie. M&Ms were inspired by the Spanish Civil War, where soldiers were given rations of chocolate covered in a hard sugar casing that prevented it melting in the intense heat. They became part of the official army rations kit in world war two and more recently have gone up into space with astronauts on the NASA programme.

Now, the modern M&M has really taken to the streets and burst into new life with an ever increasing spectrum of flavours, colours and designs. It’s now possible to buy anything from the regular chocolate and peanut M&Ms, to strawberried peanut butter, ‘Razzberry’, white chocolate candy corn, pretzel, cinnamon, and orange chocolate, to mention but a few. Some of the wilder American flavours haven’t made it across to London’s shop due to EU restrictions on flavouring, but there is without doubt still more than enough variety to keep customers satisfied.

In M&M World, the sweets are fronted by spokesmen ‘Red’ and ‘Yellow’ (for those not aware, these are giant talking M&Ms with arms and legs and they are turning up all over the place, with a particular precedent for film premiers and other red carpet events). Further members of the family can be found in the store, including M&M palace guards, a rather jaundiced looking Knight of the Middle Ages and a cool blue M&M wearing shades and cruising a convertible. Although they don’t show it, many of the characters have been around since the 50s, making them the cosmopolitan grandparents of the confectionary world. Fans can get to know them through a series of giant video screens, meet them for photos, or visit them in their ‘character worlds’.

President of the Mars Retail Group, Susan Saidman, describes M&M’s world as ‘a truly unique, fun-filled shopping experience for all who visit, guaranteed to make it one of London’s sweetest attractions.’ It is certainly a feat of achievement in product marketing and even if you’re not into the fun, colour and communal dancing, it’s worth a look just as a manifestation of our modern society.

This article is connected to M&M's world
Published Jun 1, 2012