Mars Inc.

Mars, Incorporated, doing business as Mars Inc., is a big American company that makes tasty treats, food for pets, and other food products. It was started on June 23, 1911, and is still owned by the Mars family. The company’s main office is in McLean, Virginia, near Washington metropolitan area.

In 2022, Mars had US$45 billion in sales and was ranked the fourth-largest privately held company in the United States by Forbes. Mars works through four main parts of the business around the world. These include Snacking, with offices in Chicago, Illinois, and other cities; Petcare, which has offices in places like Zaventem, Belgium, and Poncitlán, Mexico; Food, based in Rancho Dominguez, California; and Mars Edge in Germantown, Maryland, which looks after the company’s work in life sciences.

History

Franklin Clarence Mars began selling candy at age 19 and founded the Mars Candy Factory in Tacoma, Washington in 1911 with his wife, Ethel V. Mars. The factory sold candy wholesale, but it failed because a bigger company, Brown & Haley, was already there. By 1920, Mars moved back to Minnesota, where he started Mar-O-Bar Co., which later became Mars, Incorporated.

In 1923, his son Forrest Mars Sr. suggested a new kind of candy bar based on a chocolate malted milk milkshake. Using nougat from Minneapolis, Frank Mars created the Milky Way bar, which became very popular. In 1930, Frank introduced the Snickers bar, and in 1932, the 3 Musketeers bar. Later, Forrest Mars started his own company in Slough, UK, and launched the Mars bar, which was also very successful.

After Frank Mars passed away in 1934, his wife’s family took over the company. Eventually, Forrest Mars took control and merged his UK company with the one in Chicago. In 1984, Mars moved its headquarters to McLean, Virginia. Over the years, Mars has bought many companies, including Doane Petcare in 2007, which helped them grow their pet food business, and Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company in 2008, making Mars a big player in gum too. Mars also opened premium chocolate shops named Ethel M Chocolates in Las Vegas in 1980.

Mars has many factories in the United States, including places like Hackettstown, New Jersey, Albany, Georgia, and Chicago, Illinois. In 2014, they opened a new chocolate factory in Topeka, Kansas. Mars has also bought several snack companies, like Kind North America in 2020 and Hotel Chocolat in 2023. In August 2024, Mars announced it would buy Kellanova, formerly known as Kellogg's, in a deal worth $35.9 billion, making it one of the biggest deals of 2024. The purchase was completed in December 2025 after getting approval from European Union regulators.

Mars Food UK Limited

In 1932, Forrest Mars Sr. opened Mars' first European headquarters in Slough, Berkshire, where he made the first Mars bar based on the American Milky Way. This factory is now known as Mars Food UK Limited. Many popular candies like Starburst, Skittles, Twix, and Topic began in the United Kingdom before coming to the United States.

Mars also has a drinks division called Mars Drinks UK, based in Slough. It offers drinks like Starburst Orange Drink, Maltesers Hot Chocolate, and Galaxy flavors, as well as coffee and vending machines. In 2018, this drinks division was sold to Lavazza.

Mars Petcare

Mars Petcare began when Forrest Mars started the pet food industry in Europe. He changed the names of Kal Kan dog and cat food to Pedigree and Whiskas, which became very popular brands. By 1994, Mars was the leading pet food company worldwide.

Mars Petcare also makes products for fish and birds, and offers genetic testing for pets. It has expanded its veterinary care services by acquiring several animal hospital chains, becoming a major provider of pet healthcare around the world.

Factories

In 1963, Mars opened a large factory in Veghel in the Netherlands, which is now one of the biggest chocolate factories in the world. Most of the company's sweets for Europe were made in factories in Slough, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic.

Mars also has important factories in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, and in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, USA. The company announced plans to close its factory in Chicago, Illinois in 2024.

Brands

See also: List of Mars Inc. brands

Mars has many famous brands that people know and love. Some of these brands are made by Mars, and others are made by The Wrigley Company.

Some of the well-known treats made by Mars include candy bars and other sweet foods. Mars also makes special foods for pets to enjoy. Over the years, Mars has stopped making some older treats, like the Banjo Candy Bar, Kudos, Pacers, PB Max, Spangles, and Summit Cookie Bars.

Veterinary services

Mars Inc. offers many veterinary services to help pets stay healthy. In North America, they run Banfield Pet Hospital with over 1,000 locations, BluePearl Veterinary Partners with around 60 locations, Pet Partners with about 86 locations, and VCA Animal Hospitals with nearly 920 locations.

Internationally, Mars provides services through AniCura, which has around 280 sites, along with other groups like Linnaeus Veterinary Group and various specialty hospitals. These services support pet care in many countries around the world.

Awards and honors

Mars Inc. was recognized by Fortune magazine in 2013 as one of the top 100 companies to work for. One nice feature was that employees in the pet food division could bring their dogs to work.

The company has also supported Elizabethtown College by donating funds. This includes sponsoring a room and helping to fund a weekly series of talks by company executives.

Consumer relations

Mars is still owned by the Mars family and is known for being very private. In 1993, a reporter from the Washington Post Magazine got a rare glimpse of the company, seeing how the “M” marks were added to M&M’s—a moment no outsider had ever seen before. For many years, Mars kept many details about itself hidden, including not sharing news about important family members who worked there. By 2019, the company had started to become more open through media appearances and sponsorships.

Controversies

Mars has faced several criticisms over the years. In 2025, the company was noted for not setting clear goals to reduce methane emissions or shift away from animal-based proteins. It was also criticized for funding experiments on animals in 2007, which some groups said were inhumane.

The company has also been questioned about its cocoa sourcing. Reports have claimed that some cocoa used in Mars products comes from farms where children work under tough conditions. Mars has tried to improve these practices, but issues continue. In 2017, it was found that some cocoa was grown in protected forests, leading to concerns about damage to wildlife habitats.