M&M's World

I'm sure that you have all tried M&M's at some point of your life but you didn't know that it's the world's biggest chocolate brand that has official shops distributed over America and Europe. Our continent's shop is located in London, a few meters away from Leicester Square to be specific and next to the Starwood chain's W hotel. It was Europe's first shop and the first located outside the United States, carrying on the enormous success of the shops in the emblematic Times Square in New York, Orlando and Las Vegas (this one being the most popular, visited by over 10 million people every year). It opened on the 13th June 2011 and employed over 180 people, in multistory building of 325 metres cubed.

Being one of London's centre's best attractions, M&M's world isn't just a shop. Tourists (above all, those younger) are left gobsmacked before the colossal dimensions. Taking photos is also allowed, which means the 7 statues of British characters are almost always full of people waiting and there are sometimes even queues, in order to be able to take the long yearned for photograph.

The gigantic shop recreates a world of colour and happiness; with 7 statues of the M&M's characters scattered throughout the store, over 100 transparent tubes which reach up to the ceiling at the named 'Chocolate Wall', where you can choose from the sweets' different flavours and 200 colours and go and mix them up in a bag. In the same way, they offer an infinity of the franchise's merchandise which ranges from clothes, glassware, kitchen utensils, school equipment, bedding, jewelry, decorations, toys, posters and paintings, cuddly toys... It also has British themed exhibitions, like the one that recreates the Abbey Road pedestrian crossing where each M&M's character represents a Beatle, portraits of Henry VIII and Isabel I, the royal guard, a traditional Londinese red double-decker bus, a football goal... and there are big red double-decker buses in the middle of the store.

There are two M&M's characters at the entrance, welcoming the visitor with an American flag and another British. After passing them, we arrive at the hall where it's necessary to cross the double-decker bus, in order to get to the spiral staircase that brings us to the second floor. The brand's logo with the British flag stands out above anything else in the hall, besides the bus.

The famous chocolate sweet's vending is always full of people with their bags and there are several employees, in case the client needs their help. In my case, an employee stood out to me because I was throwing too many sweets into the space, where people can leave some if they go overboard with the weight and they go back into the tube to be consumed by another client. However, there's no need to go overboard with throwing them... or so the boy told me.

Another of the most original curiosities that we came across in the great universe of M&M's, are the slot machines with M&M's as a prize. Amongst the characters is the knight of armor with an adorable and roguish yellow face. The red is the ever so serious and formal man from the Royal Guard, like the ones guarding Buckingham Palace (its function is to protect the precious crown jewels). The green character represents a glamorous young lady wearing a beautiful pink dress and with an arrogant expression of someone without many friends, to tell the truth. The blue character recreates the scene of being at the wheel of an impressive sports car and last of all, the orange is the goalkeeper; inviting the buyer to score goals (a metaphor that incites the customer).

The American brand is currently sold in over 100 countries and its origin dates back to 1954. Swarovski and Maxell are some of the partners most invested in it. As well as everything described in the previous paragraphs, the shop also has interactive video screens which delight the younger crowd. They sometimes advertise the brand and store on Piccadilly Circus's screens but not on the same magnitude as Time Square's screens advertising its New York shop. As an incentive, clients can enjoy exclusive products according to the time of year; Halloween, Christmas and Easter being the three dates when they launch the most products.

Without a doubt, M&M's is a must see for all chocolate lovers. The shop is open every day from 10am until 12 at night and from midday until 6pm on Sundays.