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Skittles' history can be traced back to 1970s Britain when its famous five original flavors were launched.
The candy’s popularity would spread like wildfire across the globe due to its eye popping flavor, famous marketing campaigns, and product variations.
Skittles were invented and manufactured in Britain in 1974. It was candy developed by Mars and distributed by Jack Candies.
They originally came in five flavors:
Nobody knows the exact creator(s) of Skittles; he or they are only known as “Mr. Skittles.”
It wouldn’t be till 1979 that Skittles would make its debut in America. Production would soon follow in North America in 1982 due to high demand. With the first Skittles factory opening in Waco, Texas.
How it got its name: The name “Skittles” was inspired by the British lawn game/indoor pub game of skittles. The game is similar to bowling.
Some people think there is an ancient Egyptian connection—as the game of skittles itself dates back to ancient Egyptian times. This theory has been debunked. The candy connection is entirely modern.
The Mars branding team came up with the name to evoke a sense of fun and playfulness associated with the game.
Skittles is best known for its creative marketing campaigns and slogans.
These include:
The iconic “Taste the Rainbow” tagline was created for Skittles candy by advertising agency D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles in 1994.
It’s the longest-running and most successful candy marketing campaign in history.
It is known for its effective connection between Skittles’ colorful appearance and the rainbow while also implying a magical, experiential quality to eating the candy.
This is one of advertising’s most unique publicity stunts of all time.
The Skittles branding team created a Super Bowl commercial in 2018 that was shown to only one person—a teenager from California named Marcos Menendez.
The exclusive viewing was live-streamed on Facebook. Viewers could watch Menendez’s real-time reactions to the ad, garnering millions of views in free media.
In 2019, Skittles created a groundbreaking marketing campaign by staging a one-night-only Broadway musical starring Michael C. Hall.
The production featured original songs and a meta-narrative about advertising itself. It became the most talked-about marketing event of Super Bowl weekend despite never being broadcast on TV.
Skittles has gone through many iterations over the years. Here are their most popular releases:
This was the classic that started it all. It was best known for its strawberry, orange, lemon, lime, and grape flavors.
This was the first significant mix of flavors. Coming in with savory tropical flavors like mango.
You probably know these Skittles by their bright purple bag and wild berry flavors.
This was a hugely popular variation of the original with a sour twist.
Amazing that this took longer than it did. This candy combined Skittles with bubble gum.
It was discontinued in 2006.
These Skittles were creative twists that captured the smoothie trend of the time.
Skittles made waves by temporarily removing their signature rainbow colors from both packaging and candies. They presented them in white and gray with the message, “Only one rainbow matters during Pride.”
The initiative aimed to show support for the LGBTQ+ community and included a partnership with GLAAD for charitable donations.
This was a special edition released after solid consumer demand to bring back lime flavor. It included a bag of Skittles with all lime flavors.
This list now includes the All Lime variety, which was notably released in response to fan requests for the return of the lime flavor. It represents an interesting case of Skittles responding directly to consumer preferences.
In 2022, the EU banned titanium dioxide.
This was a white pigment used in paint and industrial coatings.
While titanium dioxide has long been considered safe, newer research suggests its nanoparticles can accumulate in the body and potentially damage DNA.
Controversy arose when Mars continued using it in American Skittles while reformulating a titanium dioxide-free version for European markets,
This led to a high-profile lawsuit claiming the candy was “unfit for human consumption.”
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