There’s something strange about the name of the regular milk chocolate M&Ms. They’re strange because depending on where you get them, they may have a different name. For example, previously I wrote a review for a similar (or maybe even the same) kind of M&M that I bought in Europe. The difference is that in Europe they called these M&Ms “Choco”, instead of “Milk Chocolate”. The difference in name poses an interesting question, are they they same candy on both continents, or is there something different about them.

After eating these and re-reading the review of the Choco M&Ms I’ve come to the conclusion that they’re probably exactly the same. While most people would assume that this is obvious, I’ve had experiences in the past with the “same” candy sold in different parts of the world. I’ve actually reviewed several versions of the standard Kit Kat bar and felt very differently about each one of them. So when I discovered this name anomaly I assumed that I might be eating a different candy depending on where I bought these M&Ms. The problem is that I really don’t feel like I am. Sure I could try and get a package from Canada, the USA, and Europe, taste them together, and try and compare, but I feel like there would be little to no difference.

Much like the European version, these are an okay chocolate treat with a crunch shell. I feel like Mars works very hard to get all their factories to produce the same candy no matter where you buy it. I guess that’s a good idea of you have loyal fans, but for people like me I feel a little slighted.

This however brings me back to the original problem, what’s with the different names. My assumption is that it has something to do with the quality of the chocolate, and labelling laws. I don’t know much about EU and North American standards for calling something chocolate, but that could have something to do with it. It could also be a language thing. Since most people in USA and Canada speak English, it’s not too hard to have the one (or two languages in my case) on the package. In Europe however they have many more languages to deal with, so maybe Choco is a more internationally simplified way of explaining what’s in the bag.

It’s all very mysterious, but it all boils down to one thing, M&Ms are pretty much the same all over the world. They’re a fine snack that’s got a decent quality chocolate and a fairly thick candy shell compared to their competitors. While the chocolate M&Ms are never my go to, I’m always happy to take a handful if offered.