On World Chocolate Day Mars Wrigley announced its investment in local manufacturing with the arrival of its cult favourite M&M’s flavour – Pretzel – in Australia.

The new chocolates will be manufactured locally at the 40-year-old Mars Wrigley chocolate factory in Ballarat, with the company investing $300,000 in new equipment to make it a possibility.

The sweet and salty confectionary is made from a pretzel biscuit, topped in milk chocolate and coated in a colourful candy shell.

In recent months, Mars has also launched mint and crispy honeycomb M&M’s.

Andrew Leakey, General Manager of Mars Wrigley Australia, said: “We are thrilled to be introducing a new variant into our bitesize portfolio with our locally produced M&M’S Pretzel for chocolate lovers in Australia to enjoy.”