Caramel-filled M&Ms coming to stores this spring

Caramel lovers, rejoice: there's a new M&M flavor headed to the shelves, and it's right up your alley.

Mars Inc. announced Tuesday that its new caramel-filled M&M's will be in stores staring in May 2017. The company described them as having soft caramel centers enrobed in chocolate and coated in a crunchy candy shell.

"Caramel is extremely trendy," Hank Izzo, vice president of research and development for Mars, told CNN Money. "It's a $2.2 billion flavor segment and the fastest growing segment in food right now. We want to be part of this category."

Tanya Berman, brand director for M&M's Brand, echoed Izzo in a news release Tuesday.

"In our research, our fans were enthusiastic at the possibility of a caramel variant and we can't wait for them to try the perfect balance of soft caramel and delicious M&M'S chocolate this spring," she said.

The caramel chocolates are the latest addition to the 75-year-old M&M's line, which has experimented with various other flavors in the past. According to CNN Money, M&M's of three categories are currently on the shelves: crispy (pretzel), smooth (chocolate) and nutty (peanut).

"After years of development, M&M's now has the proprietary technology to enter the soft and chewy category partition with the launch of M&M's Caramel Chocolate Candies," Izzo told Fortune in a statement. "Based on testing, consumers love the concept of M&M's Caramel, scoring higher than any M&M'S Brand variant ever."

The chocolates will come in at 190 calories per serving and come in 1.41 ounce, 2.83 ounce and 9.6 ounce packages.

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