Whenever an
idle question about a
product crosses my mind, I like to immediately jump on the
phone and call the
toll-free consumer help lines for an
answer (such as, "Why do
Hershey's Kisses become covered in white
powder when you
refrigerate them?"*).
Shortly after blue M&Ms came out I wondered "Why are there fewer blue M&Ms in a package than any other color?". So I called the company. First, the operator apologized for there not being enough blue ones - she said they were having problems in the production stage, and the imbalance would soon be rectified.
However, she said that the differing color distribution in M&Ms is entirely intentional, and follows a color scheme that has been determined to be most pleasing to consumers.
* It's the cocoa butter rising to the surface.