11 Little-Known Facts About NYC's Iconic M&M Store

The Big Apple is home to many must-see attractions. Walking distance from Central Park and the Empire State Building in the billboard-laden bustle of Times Square sits an iconic hot spot for tourists called M&M's World New York. It's the fully immersive flagship store for one of the most popular snacks in America and feels like Willy Wonka's factory meets the Disney Store. Its colorful allure continues to catch the eye of many tourists and fits perfectly among Times Square's shimmering spectacle. This larger-than-life candy shop has three levels of interactive retail space designed specifically for satisfying your sweet tooth — and promoting the M&M's brand, of course.

Countless customers visit each day to purchase colorful souvenirs, play interactive games, and see its famous walls, which are covered in chocolate. The massive confectionery store  also has one of the largest selections of M&M flavors in the world, which only scratches the candy coating of what this Times Square gem offers. It has been trapping tourists for nearly 30 years now. Here are some little-known facts about NYC's iconic M&M's store.

M&M's World extends beyond the Big Apple, with locations in cities around the globe. The Times Square location was the brand's third flagship when it opened in 2006, following Orlando, Florida, in 2005 and Las Vegas in 1997 — the original and second largest one. In 2011, Mars brought its experiential confectionery outlet across the pond to London. The London location has the most square footage of all seven M&M's World locations. Shanghai was next on M&M's quest for global sweet tooth domination, which opened in 2014. Then, in 2020, iterations popped up at the Mall of America in Minnesota and in Berlin. 

It left a candy-coated impression in Cleveland, Tennessee, in 2015 too, but only for a temporary pop-up. Each M&M's World shares many similarities with the others yet has a distinct design inspired by its location. M&M's World New York, for example, fits the steely aesthetic of the city's urban sprawl. Two massive LED screens above each entrance contribute considerably to Times Square's mesmerizing wattage. All day, every day, they play eye-catching animations that lure tourists into its colorful retail space, where many then purchase a souvenir.

M&M's World New York is located at 1600 Broadway. This is where the historic Studebaker Building once stood before it was demolished and replaced in 2004. It was a 10-story office building for the American car manufacturer Studebaker, constructed in 1902 when Times Square was referred to as Longacre Square. Originally known for wagons and carriages, Studebaker had taken people from point A to B since American settlers ventured west, though the company later transitioned to automobiles. The company would go on to sell electric vehicles as early as 1902.

Once the biggest automobile maker in the world, Studebaker stopped rolling cars off the assembly line in 1966. When the Studebaker Building opened, it was one of New York City's most innovative high-rises, housing a massive elevator that moved cars easily throughout the building. Several smaller businesses operated out of its office space over the years as well, until New York developer and owner Sherwood Equities decided to replace it with the 25-story building that is currently there. 

Opening day for M&M's World New York was as colorful as the brand's cast of characters. The event matched the lively energy of its new Times Square address. A 25,000-square-foot retail space was now home to New York's largest candy store, and to celebrate, Mars decided to paint the town red, yellow, blue, and green — not literally, but by inviting customers to participate in an interactive M&M-inspired publicity stunt.

The idea was to "candy coat" people the color of their favorite M&M's flavor. Wearing only swimwear and goggles, New Yorkers were painted primary colors and stamped with a large "M" on their tummies. The kaleidoscopic group took the campaign across Times Square, cheering, whooping, and hollering over the cacophony of city life. It was the sort of publicity stunt that might go viral in today's social media world. Unfortunately, because camera phones weren't a widespread thing back then, we could only find this blurry YouTube video and some photos floating around online. 

According to Food Network, M&M's produces enough candy a day to encircle the globe. Unsurprisingly, the brand's flagships are some of the largest candy stores in the world. Based on our research, M&M's New York (25,000 square feet) lands in the top five, behind the London (35,000 square feet) and Las Vegas (28,000 square feet) locations, along with the self-proclaimed largest candy store in the United States and the actual largest candy store in the U.S.: The 42,000-square-foot Jack's Candy in Los Angeles. 

M&M's New York offers much more than candy, though. In addition to a wide selection, the option to customize flavors, and a unique experiential setting, M&M's World's Times Square location may also make it one of the busiest candy stores in the world. Times Square receives between 250,000 to 300,000 visitors on average each day, according to market research conducted by the city. What's more, you can get your M&M's fix until 11 p.m. in the city that never sleeps. While there is no official number of annual visitors, we wouldn't be surprised if it's in the millions.

To make sure that M&M's New York was one of the best candy stores in the United States, Mars came up with the idea to let customers personalize their very own M&M's. Its personalized printer was introduced to the Times Square location in 2012. It lets customers put creative spins on 16 colors consisting of the main lineup, nine exclusive hues, and one blended option. Milk chocolate was and still is the default flavor. M&M's World doesn't let you customize the filling like the Reese's Stuff Your Cup feature at Hershey's Chocolate World, just what's printed on them. 

You can swap the M for any letter or print an entire message on them. Either side of an M&M can be printed with images or customized messages, in fact. The store provides a wide range of clip art-style logos, shapes, faces, names, and more. Printers pop out custom orders in around two minutes, making it a popular gift for tourists to take home.

Adding to the immersive atmosphere of M&M's World is the store's mood analyzer, an interactive kiosk that determines what color M&M fits you most based on how you feel. It was one of several fun features included with the store's opening, though it was originally introduced at the Disney Springs location in Orlando, Florida. The concept was created by design firm Chute Gerdeman with the goal of not only providing a playful element but also encouraging customers to purchase more candy.

Customers activate the mood analyzer by stepping on a platform. The first question asked is "What is your color mood?" followed by prompts that let you personalize characteristics. Brian Shafley, president and creative director at Chute Gerdeman at the time, believed that customers would subconsciously desire the color chosen by the friendly computerized guide. Safe to say he was correct, seeing as the mood analyzer later became a staple of the M&M's World experience.

If the body paint publicity stunt was any indication, M&M's knows how to build excitement around a new flavor. In 2017, to introduce M&M's Caramel Chocolate, Mars designed an augmented reality game called M&M's ARcade. The concept was to re-create the nostalgic feeling of '90s arcade games, so with the help of Blippar, a free augmented-reality app, Times Square billboards were transformed into interactive games that customers could play on their phones.

Multiple games were spread across billboards in central Times Square. You only had to scan them with your phone to start playing. Participants were given free M&M's Caramel candies, too. The games didn't stop there, though. Those unable to make it to the event could still join in on the fun. Mars included a scannable code on each package of M&M's Caramel so everyone could check out the brand's new augmented reality experience.

There is no shortage of bucket list-worthy sights to see in New York City, and one of them happens to be located at M&M's World in Times Square. Within its vibrant-colored retail space lives the city's largest wall of chocolate. Not a literal wall made of chocolate or something akin to America's largest chocolate fountain, but something just as impressive and Instagrammable. It's 50 feet wide, two stories high, and covered with 72 long tubes filled with thousands, maybe millions of M&M's. There are two tubes for each of the 15 available colors, with dispensers for customers to collect bulk quantities.

In addition to the 15 colors, M&M's World New York carries 14 unique flavors and a handful of exclusive ones. There are raspberry, wild cherry, and cinnamon, as well as classics like milk chocolate, dark chocolate, peanut butter, almond, and more. Some customers say that the M&M's at the Times Square location taste fresher than the typical store-bought ones, too. Cost is the only caveat because apparently, buying them in bulk can get pricey pretty quickly.

Without the colorful residents of M&M's World, the experience would be incomplete. After you've consulted the mood analyzer and secured the sweet goods, head to the third floor to meet life-size versions of one or more of M&M's iconic mascots. The full lineup consists of the overconfident Red, the over-optimistic Yellow, the anxiety-filled Orange, the prim and personable Purple, the sassy-as-she-wanna-be Green, the head-M&M-in-charge Brown, and the calm-and-cool Blue.

Customers can select from several background images and add personalized messages to their pictures. The only thing to keep in mind is that the mascots aren't always in-store, and the characters usually rotate. You can still snap a memory at the photo booth, though. Plus, the store usually sets up fun, Instagrammable installations on special occasions. That said, if the mascots happen to be on vacay next time you visit, the store is littered with large statues of each character, which you can take pictures with as well. 

In 2021, 1600 Broadway, the building that houses M&M's World New York, was sold by owner Sherwood Equities for over $190 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. Real estate investment trust Paramount Group and a partner became the new owners thanks to a deal brokered by commercial real estate company Cushman & Wakefield. The deal closed during a period of recovery for New York following the pandemic and was one of the city's biggest retail transactions at the time.

According to its terms, M&M's World will continue to operate from there until 2036 when the lease expires. Sherwood Equities originally listed the property for $200 million in 2019. Reports said an influx of nearby property sales helped to push the deal through as tourism finally began to return to Times Square. Whether M&M's World will remain at 1600 Broadway when the lease expires is unclear.