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Skittles creates limited-edition colorless candies for LGBTQ Pride Month

By Brianna Chambers, Cox Media Group National Content Group

Mars SKITTLES Pride Pack Skittles Pride Pack (Image via Mars, Incorporated) (Hand-out/Mars, Incorporated)

By Brianna Chambers, Cox Media Group National Content Group

Ahead of June’s Pride Month, the company that owns Skittles announced the candymaker will release a limited-edition colorless version of the fruity flavored treats.

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Mars Inc. said the company will produce colorless Pride Packs. The normally rainbow packaging will be a gray-white, and the candies will be too.

The move is in support of the LGBTQ+ community, which is often represented by a rainbow flag. The monotone candy serves to highlight that “during Pride, only [one rainbow] matters," officials wrote in a press release.

For every pack sold during the month of June, Skittles will donate $1 to GLAAD, an LGBTQ+ media advocacy group, up to $100,000.

“This Pride month, Skittles is removing its rainbow, but replacing it with much-needed conversations about the LGBTQ+ community and a visible stand of solidarity,” said GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. “The funding that GLAAD receives from the Skittles Pride Packs will support our news and campaigns program, which tells culture-changing stories of LGBTQ+ people and issues across the media year-round. This year when many LGBTQ+ people will be unable to gather at large Pride events, it’s so important that brands, notables, and other allies find authentic and creative ways to show that they stand with our community.”

Despite being colorless, the special edition Skittles will still be full of flavor. Consumers can still expect the standard grape, lemon, orange, green apple and strawberry offerings.

While the Give the Rainbow campaign is new in the U.S., it has previously run in Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. The campaign received mixed reviews in those locations.

“Skittles is passionate about showing its support for the LGBTQ+ community,” said Hank Izzo, vice president of marketing, Mars Wrigley U.S. “We believe that giving up our rainbow means so much more than just removing the colors from our Skittles packs and we’re excited to do our part in making a difference for the LGBTQ+ community through our partnership with GLAAD, not only in June, but all year long.”

According to Marketing Dive, the Skittles Pride Packs will be sold at select CVS and Walmart stores.

Cox Media Group

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