Mars Incorporated | The largest Candy makers in the world

Mars Incorporated is Headquartered in Mclean, Virginia. Mars is among the world’s largest confectionery and candy makers. The $35 billion company is among the largest privately-owned family businesses in the US.

History

Frank C. Mars started the Mars company in the year 1911. He tried to sell candy in a wholesale model, but success did not come to the company as it failed miserably in its first venture. He again started his venture in the year 1920 in Minneapolis and founded Mar-O-Bar Co. Frank C. Mars’s son came up with the idea of chocolate malted milk in a candy bar. Then they created Milky way Bar and it was a big hit among the public as demand increased. The company added more and more labourers to the workforce.

Way Towards Succes

In the year 1924, the company’s sales exceeded $650,000. The company employed more than 125 people. Within a few years, they moved the company to a bigger space in Chicago, Illinois, United States. In the new company, they introduced new products like Snickers Bar and Mars Almond Bar which became all-time favourites. Even during the Great Depression their sales did not stall but kept increasing as the years went by. The sales tripled and thus prompted the company to start its first overseas branch in the United Kingdom in the year 1932. M&M chocolates were founded by Forrest Mars in the year 1940, it later come under the Mars Corporation. M&M was another huge success for the company.

Expansion of Products

In 1943 Mars began exploring new products, they began producing frozen rice, whole grain, instant rice, etc. They also began by selling rice products to the U.S. Army till the end of World War II. After the war, they tried selling it to the general public and unexpectedly it became a huge success. It soon became the country’s number one rice brand and soon the number one rice brand in the world selling in more than 100 countries. They named the product ‘Uncle Ben’s rice. They began opening manufacturing plants in Australia, Belgium, German, Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The company also tried different products like pasta, spaghetti sauce, dog food, etc. It also became the largest dog food seller in the world. In 1985 it introduced a collection of new chocolates like Twix Cookie Bar, Starburst, Skittles, Bounty bars, etc to increase customer interest.

Acquisition

Mars also concentrated on acquiring smaller companies that can aid its growth from 1990-2010. In 2008 Mars, Incorporated along with Berkshire Hathaway bought the Wrigley Company which is the world’s biggest chewing gum seller for $23 billion.

Products

The most popular products that Mars sells today are ‘Snickers’ with sales of $2 billion a year, ‘Pedigree dog food, ‘Double mint’ chewing gum, ‘Celebrations’ chocolate box, etc. Galaxy, Mars, Bounty, M&M’s candy, Doublemint and Orbit in India. Last year it also launched the Skittles brand of candy.