Mars bar

A Mars bar is a popular chocolate bar made by Mars Inc.. It contains layers of caramel and nougat, all covered in smooth milk chocolate. The Mars bar was created in 1932 in England by a man named Forrest Mars Sr.. He made it to look like another chocolate bar called the Milky Way bar that his father had invented.

In the United States, a special version of the Mars bar was made. This version had nougat and toasted almonds inside, also covered in milk chocolate. Later, caramel was added too. This version came in creamy, cream-colored packaging. Although this special version was stopped in 2002, it came back the next year with a few small changes. It was then called Snickers Almond.

History

The Mars bar was first made in Slough, England, in 1932 by Forrest Mars Sr.. He created it based on his father's Milky Way bar, changing the recipe a bit for European tastes. Originally, it used chocolate from Cadbury and was made by a small team of twelve people.

Over the years, the Mars bar has seen many changes. It has been sold worldwide, except in the US, usually in a black wrapper with red and gold lettering. In 2002, the bar was updated across Europe with new slogans and a lighter nougat filling. Different countries had their own taglines, like "Pleasure you can't measure" in Britain.

Sizes

Mars bars come in several sizes. Popular choices include the Fun Size at 19.7 g, Snack Time at 36.5 g, and the regular single bar at 51 g. There is also a larger king-size option and a pack called Mars Duo, which includes two bars.

Over the years, the weight of the regular Mars bar has changed. In the UK, it was reduced from 62.5 g to 58 g, and later to 51 g. In Australia, the size also decreased from 60 g to 47 g. These changes were partly due to cost and portion size considerations.

American version (almond bar)

In the United States, the Mars bar was a special candy bar made with nougat and toasted almonds covered in milk chocolate. It was first sold in America in 1936. At first, it did not have caramel, but caramel was added later. The bar was stopped being made in 2002.

In 2003, a new candy bar called Snickers Almond was introduced. It had nougat, almonds, caramel, and milk chocolate, similar to the Mars bar but with smaller pieces of almond. The Mars bar came back for a short time in 2010, then stopped again in 2011, and returned once more in 2016 with the original recipe, but without caramel.

Spinoff products

Other products have also been released using the Mars name. Some of these include Mars Bites/Bouchées (Canada), Mars Milk (1998), Mars Delight (discontinued in the UK in 2008), Mars Choc Brownie, Mars Extra Chocolate Drink, No Added Sugar Drink, Mars Ice Cream bars, Mars and Mars Midnight Ice Cream bars, McVities Mars Mini Rolls, Mars Biscuits (Australia and the UK), Mars Pods (Australia and New Zealand), Mars Rocks, Mars Planets, Mars Mix, Mars Frozen Dessert Bar, and Mars Protein – a 50 g Mars bar with less sugar and more protein.

Packaging variants

The Mars bar has had special packaging for big sports events. In 2006, during the FIFA World Cup, the Mars bar in Britain used "Believe" packaging to support the England national football team. In 2008, Mars bars in Switzerland were called "Hopp" to mean "Go!" for the UEFA Euro tournament. In 2010, Mars packaging in England featured the St. George cross for the FIFA World Cup. These special designs were only for a short time to celebrate the sports events.

Advertising slogans

Former

Some fun slogans from the past include:

• "Maxis from Mars" – United Kingdom (1969)
• "Mars bringt verbrauchte Energie sofort zurück." (Mars replenishes lost energy instantaneously) – Germany (1960s)
• "Mars macht mobil bei Arbeit, Sport und Spiel" (Mars mobilises you at work, sports and play) – Germany (1980s and 1990s)
• "A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play" – Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom
• "Out of this world!" – Australia, UK
• "Earth – what you'd eat if you lived on Mars" – New Zealand
• "Another way to make your day" – UK (2005)
• "Feels good to be back!" – Australia (2005)
• "An almond in every bite!" – US
• "Un Mars, et ça repart" (A Mars, and here we go again) – France (late 1990s and renewed from 2006)
• "Mars, que du bonheur" (Mars, only happiness) – France
• "Mars, haal eruit wat erin zit!" (Mars, get the most out of it!) – Netherlands, Belgium
• "Who knows? In 1,000 years we could all be sitting on Mars eating Earth bars." – United Kingdom (a full-page advertisement placed in the official Guide Book for the Millennium Dome in 2000)

Current

Popular slogans today include:

• "Mars your day" – Australia
• "A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play" – UK, Australia
• "Recharge on Mars" – Canada
• "Mars, pleasure you just can't measure" – Europe
• "Un coup de barre? Mars et ça repart!" (Feeling tired? A Mars and here we go again!) – France
• "Nimm Mars, gib Gas" (Take Mars, step on the gas) – Germany
• "Mars, momento di vero godimento" (Mars, a moment of pure enjoyment) – Italy
• "Mars, geeft je energie" (Gives you energy) – The Netherlands and Flanders, Belgium
• "Work-Rest-Play" – UK (later "Work-Rest-Play your part")
• "Turn Up the Heat!" – (UK promotional packs in 2010)

Deep-fried Mars bar

Main article: Deep-fried Mars bar

People in Stonehaven, Scotland started selling Mars bars that were coated in batter and deep-fried in 1995. Even though Mars Inc. says this isn’t official, many people in Scotland love to eat them this way. Some places outside of Scotland, including Kathmandu, Nepal, have also used Mars bars as a filling inside special momo dumplings.

Recalls

In July 2005, Mars bars and Snickers bars were recalled in New South Wales because someone claimed they had poisoned some bars. The company took the bars off the shelves, but later it was safe to sell them again.

In February 2016, Mars and Snickers bars were recalled in many countries after a customer found a piece of plastic in a Snickers bar. The problem came from a factory in Veghel, The Netherlands.

Animal products controversy

In May 2007, Mars UK announced that Mars bars and other products like Snickers, Maltesers, Minstrels, and Twix would no longer be suitable for vegetarians. This change was because of a new ingredient called rennet, taken from calves' stomachs, used in making whey. Despite this, Jewish authorities said the products were still kosher.

Many groups were upset about this decision. Mars quickly changed its mind, admitting it had made a mistake.

Economics

The price of a Mars bar has often matched changes in the value of the pound sterling since World War II. This is similar to how the Big Mac Index helps show how strong different currencies are compared to each other.

Popular culture

The Northern Irish pop-punk band The Undertones wrote a song called "Mars Bars", which came out as a B-side in 1979.

In the 1960s, a Liverpool band named Gerry and the Pacemakers was first called Gerry Marsden and the Mars Bars. They had to change their name because the Mars company did not like it.