M&M's Store

Mars Inc., parent company of the 65-year-old chocolate treat, has opened the second store for its globally craved chocolate candy – M&M's World Orlando – at the Florida Mall. The brand's first retail location in Las Vegas, which opened in 1997, was all about using effects, a 3-D movie and interactive components to create an attraction to the store. But in Florida, designers wanted the new Orlando store itself to be the attraction.

“Our new concept is designed to allow guests to immerse themselves in the fun spirit of the M&M's brand, in new, creative and interactive ways,” says John Haugh, president, Mars Retail.

Working with design firm Chute Gerdeman (Columbus, Ohio), designers sought to bring the world of M&M's alive using color and shape. “Mars felt the brand should be modern and have a contemporary attitude,” says Brian Shafley, president and creative director at Chute Gerdeman.

While those iconic blue, green, yellow and red M&M's characters have sweetened their way into the hearts of many, designers turned the candy's milk chocolate and peanut shapes (called a “lentil” in Mars-speak) into an iconic language for the store.

“They wanted M&M's to be a creative visual,” says Shafley. “Because that's kind of what they are. When you pour open a bag of M&M's, it's all about the fun of the mix of colors.”

So, at the exterior entrance, 11-foot tall M&M's spokescandies beckon shoppers to the store, while from inside the mall, an equally impressive revolving M&M's lentil greets shoppers. Flanking either side of this entryway are 13 3-foot-diameter lentil-shaped “discs.” Custom fixtures (from Seven Continents, Toronto), resembling large M&M's candies, display product inside the mall entryway.

To bring the colorful M&M's palette to life, designers turned to LED lighting to immerse shoppers in the brand. “We wanted to make sure it wasn't just painted walls and fixtures,” says Shafley. “We wanted the color to have a very dynamic quality to it.”

Programmable LEDs mounted inside the discs on the mall entryway and on the backwall of the three cashwrap areas can be programmed to change colors and sequences, creating a light-show attraction. Store employees can also tie the colored lights into a holiday or event, such as green during St. Patrick's Day or pastels during Easter time.

The most striking use of LEDs hangs above shoppers' heads in the center of the store, where a large, stylized color-changing M&M's candy floats in the ceiling. “As you look into the store, you can see the ceiling fading from one color to the next,” says Shafley. “LED lighting makes the store fun and experiential. And always different.”

But the color doesn't stop there. The actual M&M's candies became a color device inside the store at the “My M&M's Wall,” where 72 vertical tubes hold 21 rainbow colors of M&M's in various flavors and mixes. (Shoppers can also create their own mixes.)

A Color Mood Analyzer kiosk helps shoppers choose colors. The interactive device, complete with bar code scanner and playful computerized voice, scans shoppers and tells them what color M&M's fits their mood at that moment.

“The idea is that if the computer tells you that you're 'electric green,' that you'll go over to the M&M's wall and get electric green candies,” says Shafley.

Having a little fun with those serious fans of the candy, designers fashioned a Collector's Gallery for housing the brand's extensive line of candy dispensers. The curved display platforms with backlit tops elevate the statues to art status, at least in the M&M's world.

With more than 17,000 square feet of space to play with, designers used a glowing undulating Topo ceiling (from USG Ceilings, Chicago) and colorful flooring to lead shoppers through the store. Wood flooring marks the main shopping area, while custom terrazzo in the M&M's colors of yellow, green, red and blue, is featured elsewhere. For the NASCAR victory lane, which celebrates the M&M's-sponsored No. 38 car, a brown and yellow terrazzo checkerboard mimics the pattern of racing's checkered flag, but in a chocolate-friendly palette.

Since Mars plans to roll out the concept to additional cities, designers employed a modular fixturing system (from B&N Industries, Burlingame, Calif.) to house the brand's array of products, which includes not just chocolate, but apparel, homegoods, plush and jewelry.

M&M's have come a long way since the plain candies were introduced in 1941, quickly becoming a favorite snack among American GIs serving in World War II. The rollout of M&M's brand stores will ensure that the candies continue to grow in popularity, melting into the hearts (and mouths) of chocolate fans the world over.

Client: M&M's World Division, Henderson, Nev.
Blair Ford, vp, retail
John Haugh, president, Mars Retail

Design: Chute Gerdeman, Columbus, Ohio
Dennis Gerdeman, principal
Brian Shafley, president and creative director
Wendy Johnson, executive vp, account management
Bess Anderson, director, visual strategies
Steve Pottschmidt, director, design development
Steve Boreman, senior designer
Jon Knodell, designer

Architect: CG Architecture, Columbus, Ohio
Dennis Gerdeman, principal
Scot Draughn, AE leader
Tom LaPens, AE designer
Dan Marsh, Columbus, Ohio

General Contractor: ICC General Contractors, Geneva, Fla.

Outside Design Consultants: Dixon Entertainment Arts, Henderson, Nev. (creative management)
Premier Management Alliance, Tustin, Calif. (construction management)
Illuminating Concepts, Farmington Hills, Mich. (lighting)
Lewis Engineering- Columbus, Ohio (structural engineering)
M-Retail Engineering, Westerville, Ohio (mechanical and electrical engineering)

Flooring: Alpine Terrazzo Inc., Maitland, Fla.
Armstrong World Industries Inc., Lancaster, Pa.
Listone Giordano, South Eaton, Mass.

Floor and Wall Ceramic Tile: Dal-Tile, Dallas
United States Ceramic Tile, North Canton, Ohio

Ceiling Systems: USG Ceilings, Chicago

Fixtures: B&N Industries, Burlingame, Calif.
SEVEN CONTINENTS, Toronto

Furniture: Continental Office Furniture, Columbus, Ohio

Millwork: Midwest Woodworking & Fixture Corp., North Ridgeville, Ohio
National Mallfront and Design, Peoria, Ariz.
Universal Custom Display, Elk Grove, Calif.

Paint Finishes: Scuffmaster Architectural Finishes, Minneapolis
Sherwin Williams Paint, Cleveland

Plastic Laminates: Wilsonart Intl., Temple, Texas
Formica, Cincinnati
Arborite, Laval, Que.
Pionite Decorative Surfaces/Panolam, Shelton, Conn.

Metals, Glass and Special Finishes: Advanced Technology Inc, Greensboro, N.C.
American Renolit Corp., Whippany, N.Y.
Moz Designs, Oakland, Calif.
Skyline Design, Chicago

Wallcoverings/Signage/Graphics: Meisel, Dallas

Sound Systems/Special Effects: Electrosonic, Burbank, Calif.

Lighting Effects: Illuminating Concepts, Farmington Hills, Mich.

Signage/Graphics: Sharp Signs, Forsyth, Mo.
B&N Industries, Burlingame, Calif.
National Mallfront and Design, Peoria, Ariz.

Large Character Elements: Outform, Manila, Philippines

Photography: Mark Steele, Columbus, Ohio