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Mars, Inc. operates across several major product categories, including confectionery, snack and breakfast foods, and pet care. Its portfolio spans candy brands such as M&Mâs and Snickers, along with a broad range of food and pet-care products.
Where is Mars, Inc. headquartered?
Mars, Inc. is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, and operates as a privately held U.S. company with a global footprint.
Why was Marsâs acquisition of Kellanova significant?
The 2025 acquisition of Kellanovaâthe snack-focused company created in Kellogg Companyâs 2023 splitâmarked one of the largest deals in Marsâs history. It significantly expanded Marsâs presence in global snack foods, adding well-known brands and strengthening its international operations.
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An assortment of Mars candy bars and chocolate candies, including Snickers, Milky Way, Twix, Milk Chocolate M&Mâs, and Peanut M&Mâs.
Mars, Inc. is a global corporation that manufactures products in many different categories, including food, confectionery, pet care, and nutritional solutions. Mars, Inc., is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, and is one of the largest privately held companies in the United States, with annual revenue of about $55 billion as of 2025.
Divisions and brands
Mars has four divisions:
The Mars Wrigley division manufactures confectionery products, including M&Mâs candies, Snickers candy bars, Skittles candies, and Orbit chewing gum.
Mars Food produces Benâs Original (formerly known as Uncle Benâs) and Abu Siouf rice products, Suzi Wan Asian foods, and Dolmio sauces.
Mars Petcare manufactures pet food products, including Pedigree dog food and Whiskas cat food, and sanitary products, such as Natusan cat litter.
The Mars Edge division partners with research teams worldwide to create personalized nutritional products, such as supplements and protein shakes.
Acquisition of Kellanova
In August 2024, Mars agreed to acquireKellanova (K), a snack food company that in 2023 was spun off from breakfast cereal giant Kelloggâs. The $36 billion deal, which brought former Kelloggâs products such as Eggo waffles, Pop-Tarts toaster pastries, Pringles potato crisps, and Cheez-It crackers under the Mars umbrella, closed on December 8, 2025. With the acquisition complete, Kellanova was taken private, its shares were delisted, and its snack brands became part of Marsâs global operations.
Early history and global reach (1911â1980s)
In 1911, company founder Frank C. Mars started making and selling buttercream candies from his home in Tacoma, Washington. In 1920, he relocated the business to Minneapolis, where it had success with the Milky Way candy bar, which was first produced in 1923.
The company moved to Chicago in 1929, bringing along some 200 employees. The cityâs central location and convenient transportation options, as well as the popularity of the newly introduced Snickers and Three Musketeers candy bars, made the 1930s a period of growth and expansion for the company.
Mars reached the European market and added its first pet care product in 1935 by acquiring Chappell Brothers, Ltd., a British company that produced Chappie canned dog food. Maltesers chocolate balls were introduced in Europe in 1936, and Mars added KITEKAT cat food to its U.K. product line in 1939.
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World War II advertisement for Milky Way candy bars, 1943.
Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images
During World War II Mars opened a factory in Newark, New Jersey, to produce M&Mâs candies exclusively for U.S. military troops. The public finally got a taste of M&Mâs in 1945, and, to ensure that consumers purchased the genuine M&Mâs product, Mars printed a lowercase letter m logo (which was trademarked in 1950) on the candy coating of each individual piece. Due to the popularity of M&Mâs, Mars opened an additional factory in Hackettstown, New Jersey, in 1958.
In 1962, Mars opened manufacturing plants in the Netherlands and England and initiated marketing campaigns in France and Sweden. In 1965, the company established the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition in the U.K., a research and development laboratory dedicated to exploring the dietary needs of pets. Mars expanded its pet food business in the U.S. by acquiring Kal Kan Foods in 1968.
Expansion and major acquisitions (1980sâ2020s)
The company opened the Mars Center for Cocoa Science in Bahia, Brazil, in 1982 to support its numerous chocolate-based products and address issues of biodiversity, sustainability, and working conditions in the cocoa-farming industry. Similar facilities opened later in Indonesia and Ecuador. In the 1990s, Mars entered the Russian and Chinese pet food markets and also acquired the organic food company Seeds of Change.
In 2005, the company established Mars Symbioscience, a global research business focused on the development of health products and the life sciences. Areas of research include plant care, cocoa flavanols, and dog genetics. In 2007, the company purchased Banfield Pet Hospital and the natural pet food company Nutro Products. Mars acquired the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, which was known for chewing gum brands, such as Doublemint, Juicy Fruit, and Big Red, for $23 billion in 2008.
In 2020, Mars retired the Uncle Benâs brand name and relaunched the business as Benâs Original, reflecting a broader cultural reckoning over racial imagery and branding in consumer products.
During the early 2020s, Mars expanded selectively through acquisitions aimed at broadening its snack and chocolate portfolio. In 2020, the company acquired KIND Snacks, adding a fast-growing brand positioned around nutrition-focused snacking. Three years later, Mars strengthened its presence in premium chocolate with the acquisition of UK-based Hotel Chocolat. Its acquisition spree was capped by the 2025 acquisition of Kellanova, the former Kelloggâs business that oversaw its global snack and non-cereal brands.
Global presence
Mars, Inc. operates on a global scale, with manufacturing, distribution, and brand operations spanning North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The privately held company employs over 150,000 people worldwide and sells its products in over 80 countries, with particularly strong positions in confectionery, pet care, and snack foods.
Following its 2025 acquisition of Kellanova, Mars further expanded its international footprint, adding major snack brands and production facilities across Europe and emerging markets.
