Fun and funding are coming women’s ways, courtesy of M&M’s. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)

At long last, the Purple, Brown and Green M&Ms will be getting their close-up. 

Ahead ofInternational Women’s Day on March 8, M&M’s will be selling themed packages that prominently display its purple, brown and green candy-coated chocolate bites – which are apparently the women-coded characters in the bunch. 

And they’re to be depicted upside down, as a tribute to women who are “flipping the status quo,” per a press release. “The M&M’S brand is on a mission to use the power of fun to create purposeful connections, as we work to create a world where everyone feels they belong,” Gabrielle Wesley, chief marketing officer of Mars Wrigley North America, said in the release – while referring to Purple, Brown and Green as “powerhouse spokescandies.”

Delightful. Thankfully Mars, the candy company behind the M&M’s brand, is also putting its money where its (chocolate-filled) mouth is when it comes to empowering women. 

First, it will match every $1 made in M&M’s sales – up to $500,000 – and donate those funds to She Is The Music and We Are Moving the Needle, two nonprofits supporting women musicians. In addition, Mars will make additional donations totalling $300,000 to the Geena Davis Institute On Gender and Media, and women entrepreneurs’ organization Female Founder Collective. 

And this month, fans can nominate women in their lives to receive $10,000 grants via the M&M’s website. Ten winners will be chosen in all, and will be announced on International Women’s Day.

Several women creatives – from graffiti artists to streetwear designers – have been enlisted to showcase their work via Mars’ platform. 

Said Wesley, “Women all over the world are flipping how they define success and happiness while challenging the status quo, so we’re thrilled to be able to recognize and celebrate them.”