STRICTLY BUSINESS: HOT PINK, DEEP PURPLE OR ROYAL BLUE: A NEW COLOR FOR M&Ms?

Drab old tan is out. Either trendy hot pink, deep purple or royal blue is in.

Maybe.

First it was Old Elvis or Young Elvis on postage stamps. Now it's the color for the candy that melts in your mouth, not in your hand...(just in case some M&M's do melt in your hand the manufacturer at least wants you to like the color).

Sweet-toothed consumers started voting last week for the newest color to be added to M&M's, a candy product of M&M-Mars candy manufacturers headquartered in Hackettstown, N.J.

M&M-Mars is looking to spice up its 55-year-old candy to reflect the changing color preferences of the 1990s. Voters have until March 17 to pick up a ballot at any place they can buy the candy and register their preference -- pink, purple or blue.

For traditionalists, there is a fourth choice on the ballot: Leave the present colors alone.

"If the response for a new color is there, we'll eliminate the present tan color and replace it with the public's preference," said Pat D'Amato, spokeswoman for M&M-Mars.

The M&M-Mars name comes from the founder of the company -- Forest Mars Sr., and a former associate, Bruce Murrie.

The traditional mix of M&M's has remained unchanged since 1949 -- except for the decade-long absence of the red piece. Red was removed over a scare about food dye and restored in 1987.

Ballots to vote on the new color are available at most stores that sell candy. The results will be announced April 18, and if voters go for a change the new M&M's should be in stores by September, D'Amato said.

To drum up interest, M&M ambassadors dressed as pink, purple and blue M&M's will be appearing throughout the U.S. They will appear at the Super Bowl in Miami, Fla., and later at the Mardi Gras Dance in New Orleans, La.

Susan Elayer, who says she eats two bags of M&M's Peanuts every day, says leave the colors alone. "I think they should leave them the way they are," said Elayer of the Southeast Missourian classified department, and one of about 100 Missourian employees who participated in an in-house survey about how to spruce up M&M's.

Elayer wasn't by herself. As many as 20 percent of those taking part in the survey favored leaving the colors alone.

Brad Hollerbach of the Missourian's computer services department said he wanted "cyan, magenta and black, to go along with the yellow, for a four-color experience." These are colors required to produce four-color prints and advertisements for the newspaper.

Dick Caldwell of the Missourian accounting department said the company should eliminate brown and tan and add all three of the new colors.

Scott Anderson of the composing and ad support department summed up the feelings of many. He voted for purple, saying "it's a nice color, and I think people are going to like it."

Dwight Stamp, who works with Anderson in the same department, preferred blue.

One unidentified voter wrote in the color black, and another suggested iridescent colors that would "glow in the dark."

As for the overall vote total here: Forty percent of the respondents voted for the color purple; 34 percent voted for blue, 20 percent voted to leave the mix alone, and six percent voted for pink.

M&M's, introduced in 1940, have six basic colors: brown, yellow, orange, red, green and tan. M&M's Peanuts, however, have five colors, all the above except tan.

"The peanuts will have six colors when this contest is over," said D'Amato. "The winning color will be added."

M&M's also offer different hued mixes four times a year.

The Christmas mix is a seasonal color blend of red and green; the Valentine mix is pink, red and white; the Halloween season includes the harvest colors orange and brown, and the Easter mix features pastel blue, pink, yellow, green and purple.

D'Amato said research has indicated that pink, blue and purple are among the most popular colors for the 1990s.

The overall most popular color?

"We have no research on this, but red has to be the most popular," said D'Amato. When the company discontinued red a few years ago, numerous complaints were recorded.

New on the business scene

Construction continues on a new Southeast Missouri Hospital parking lot to be located at the intersection of Broadway and West End Boulevard.

The concrete lot will be lighted and will contain 190 new parking spaces.

The new employee lot will bring to 1,146 the number of parking spaces at the hospital.

The anticipated completion date is early spring.

Another lot with 30 additional spaces will be constructed near the corner of Broadway and Sunset for the College of Nursing, which moved to that location last summer.

The Jackson McDonald's Restaurant is expected to reopen in April.

The restaurant, located at 2220 E. Highway 61, was destroyed by fire Dec. 8.

Jerry Davis, president of Rich House Inc., which owns the restaurant, said construction of a new restaurant is expected to start this week, with anticipated opening within 90 days.

Macke Farm Equipment has a new owner, a new name and a new location.

Dan Beussink has purchased the farm equipment company from Weldon Macke, who has owned the business since 1972.

Beussink changed the named to Macke Equipment Company and has moved it from its previous Gordonville location to Nash Road.

Business hours will be 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 7:30 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

Cape Picture Perfect, a photo processing and finishing lab, opened recently at 1091 Broadway in Cape Girardeau, a location formerly occupied by Snap Shot Photo.

Craig and Linda Pershall, formerly of St. Louis, purchased Snap Shot equipment and started operations last month.

Craig Pershall previously worked for Fox Photo in St. Louis.

The business provides a number of photo services.

"We offer professional format development and processing," said Linda Pershall. "We also offer mat or glossy pictures."

The new business offers service on color and black and white film development, slide processing, and enlargements to 5-by-7 and a three-day service for 8-by-10 enlargements.

Business hours are 9 a.m to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. A night drop is available for after-hours.

Solar Press, Inc., headquartered in Naperville, Ill., is expanding.

A 20,000 square-foot addition to the Naperville facility will house new packaging equipment and additional warehouse space.

Solar Press provides products and services in specialized fields of printing and packaging.

The company, which has facilities at Naperville and Aurora, Ill., Perryville, Mo., and Aalst, Belgium, employs more than 700 people.

The Perryville facility employs about 275 people and mails out more than 3 million pieces of advertising and promotions a week.

The date has been established for the annual "Business Conference," to be held in April at the Show Me Center on Southeast Missouri State University campus.

The 1995 event will be held April 12, from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Conference topics include "Health Care: Its Meaning to You," "Retail and Manufacturing Issues of Today," and "Relationship Implications for Success."

The conference is sponsored by Southeast Missouri State University's Donald L. Harrison College of Business and the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce University Relations Committee.

Speakers will be announced later.