Mars’s fourth M&M’s World store, and their first outside of the United States, opened in June 2011 in London’s Leicester Square, as the world’s largest sweet shop at 35,000 sq. ft. (3,250m²).

Spanning four floors and big enough to house more than 100 double-decker buses, the $20M World occupies the ground floor, mezzanine, and two basement levels of the W London Hotel, in the heart of London’s theatre district.

Dedicated to the colourful fun of M&M’s, the store offers a huge range of exclusive M&M’s chocolates and merchandise including clothing, kitchenware, bedding, jewellery, and glassware, as well as seasonal items and specially-designed London-themed M&M’s branded products.

Optelma worked with Pompei C3 and Mars to create an eye-catching window display. After demonstrating that a static colour lightbox display would not be dynamic enough, Optelma designed, manufactured and installed 248 polycarbonate illuminated colour changing boxes.

Up to 3m in length and with colour-change LED cores and DMX control, these create a dazzling dynamic attraction both from the street and from inside the store. The instore merchandising team can choose from a wide range of pre-programmed lighting effects designed to enhance the store for events or national holidays like 4th July or St Patrick’s Day.

This vibrant colour-changing luminescent façade combines with an authentic 1963 London double-decker bus, repurposed as an entry gateway, to pull customers in from the street, giving a taste of the unique ‘retail-tainment’ experience and feast for the senses that awaits them.

M&M’s World London has proved an extremely popular destination. The opening day of the store attracted more than 28,000 visitors, and it is not uncommon to find customers queuing outside, waiting to get in.

CLIENT: Mars
ARCHITECT: Pompei A.D.
LIGHTING DESIGN: Optelma
CONTRACTORS: CBL
CONTROLS: Mode