Mars, Incorporated is one of the most prominent producers of brands in the world. This family-owned company generates more than 30 billion dollars in sales every year. The foundation of their success is the company's constant creativity and sharp instinct for trends that have continually brought Mars forward, step-by-step, after almost a century of business.
The story begins in 1911 in Tacoma, a harbour city in the Pacific Northwest of the USA. Frank C. Mars had 400 dollars in his pocket and definitely knew how to make chocolate candies. He founded a "Candy Factory" in his own kitchen and soon began producing a modest income. That was not enough for this young candy maker. He wanted to make something different, something completely new - a chocolate people would stand in line to buy. In 1923 – the family was now back home in Minnesota – Frank had his idea. Together with his son, Forrest, he combined 3 treats popular at that time: chocolate candy, chocolate bars and malted milk, a new drink back then, but with a taste of caramel. Their creation was longer and thicker than any piece of candy or chocolate bar at that time. The added taste of caramel was stronger than in a malted milk. Here was a thick, creamy, chewy, filled chocolate bar that sold far more than in their wildest dreams. The first stone had been laid in the foundation to build a global company: Mars Incorporated.
Complete Food for Pets
After Mars had become a household name in the USA, the company decided to make the big leap across the Atlantic to Europe. Back to the roots so to speak as the Mars ancestors were originally from Holland. Forrest Mars went to England in 1932 and founded "Mars Confectionery" in Slough. After only 3 years he realized, that like his father, he also had a nose for emerging trends. With capital from the chocolate business he purchased a small company named Chappel Brothers that was producing food for dogs. Most people at that time thought it very strange indeed to feed a pet anything other than table scraps. However, dog owners were soon won over by Mars and their brand Chappie. Mars quickly began producing petfood on a large scale from their own recipes based on scientific nutritional standards.
Civilian Use of Military Ideas
Forrest Mars met some soldiers during the Spanish Civil War who had covered their chocolate with a hard, sugary shell to keep it from melting. Once back home, Mars began research on developing chocolate candy covered with a coloured sugar coating. They would "melt in your mouth, not in your hand"- M&M'S. The first customers were soldiers in the US Army.
Forrest Mars continued searching for future trends; this time in 1941 together with Gordon Harwell, owner of a company named Converted Rice. Harwell was producing rice where the grains remained loose during cooking while retaining all the vitamins. The good contact Forrest Mars had made with the army resulted in some thankful customers: American soldiers fighting in WWII. Why wouldn't this high quality rice also be appreciated in civilian kitchens? During a business lunch, Harwell and Mars were talking about "Uncle Ben's, a brand Harwell first began using in the 1930s. Forrest Mars realized that Uncle Ben needed a face. The famous photograph, still seen on today's packs, provided the much needed breakthrough. In 1952, only six years after launching Uncle Ben's Converted Rice, the brand became market leader in the USA.
Drinks at the Push of a Button
The 1950s marked the golden age of vending machines. Be it chewing gum for a few pennies, songs from the jukebox or cold and hot drinks – people everywhere loved those snazzy machines. However, they were most often only set up in public places. Whereas in companies and offices, the thermos continued to rule the roost with drinks prepared at home that were usually lukewarm and stale by the afternoon. This is where Mars discovered a niche for a new business idea. In 1955, the company Four Square was founded in Slough (UK) and today has the name Mars Drinks. This business sells vending machines to ensure that workers and employees can really enjoy a good drink during their breaks. In 1973, the Mars subsidiary also started to manufacture the machines. This evolved into a technological coup. Mars launched the KLIX InCup system: pre-portioned ingredients for different varieties of coffee, tea and soup in a freshly sealed cup. Fresh water is not added until the button is pushed - with the advantage of full taste every time. This innovation was the beginning of international success for Four Square, and in 1976, the company was able to start selling machines in Germany.
Mars comes to Germany
Many other Mars brands have long been familiar to Germans. As early as 1959, Germans could already buy products from Mars in their shops, not M&M'S or Mars Bars as one might think, but rather Chappie and Whiskas. Demand was growing so rapidly that the company decided petfood should also be produced in Germany. The management selected Verden, located in the triangle between Bremen, Hannover and Hamburg, a region with a long established infrastructure for international transport. Founded under the name "Deutsche Petfood GmbH“, the fast growing company soon changed its name to "Tierfeinkostwerke Verden", and in the mid 1960s became known around the world as Effem GmbH. Behind this name are the initials of Forrest Mars - F and M - spoken as Effem. A second plant for dry petfood was opened by Effem in 1982 in Minden/Westphalia.
Banjo gets thing going
Germans bought their first chocolate products from Mars in 1961. A team of only 6 associates organized the entire national distribution from a small office in Hamburg. Starting out small, the business steadily grew during the following 17 years: Mars then built a factory in Viersen on the Lower Rhine whose very first product, a Banjo Bar, came off the line on 30 May 1979. Again, demand for Mars products was so high that after only 3 months of production, a shift system was needed to produce around the clock. Today, Viersen produces 10,000 snack items every minute, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Line up all the Mars-produced bars end-to-end consumed only by Germans in a year and they would circle the globe two times.
Frosty treats, proliferating plants
In 1986, Mars purchased the ice cream specialist Dove. There was more behind this move than simply wishing to expand their product portfolio. Mars was again looking at a new trend of having ice cream in a bar-on-stick format. Consumers were quick to respond: ice-cream varieties from the brands Mars, Twix, Snickers and Co all offer them a real alternative in the freezer.
Mars expanded its product range only 4 years later with another unique global development: Seramis. The decision to bring a plantcare system to the market was nothing less than a stroke of fate. In the mid-1980s, researchers from Effem GmbH were testing absorption materials for cat litter. They were also looking at clay. Some of the granulate was piled up outside the building in what was to be a particularly hot summer. Not long and plants were flourishing despite the heat that was wilting other plants not far from the pile of clay granulate. By using carefully selected clay, and with support from external partners, the perfect plantcare system was born. Seramis – "as safe as a green thumb" – is now being produced in Mogendorf/Westerwald.
One Global Name
In 2001, the Mars, Inc. subsidiaries of Mars GmbH and Effem GmbH merged to become Masterfoods. Only 6 years later the corporation renamed its national subsidiaries to ensure a unified brand identity. On 1 September 2007, the German business had returned to the name of the legendary Frank C. Mars, the candy maker from Tacoma. In Germany, Mars reports an annual sales turnover of close to 1.3 billion euro.
Wrigley comes in
In October 2008, Mars took over the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company. This company remains the world's largest producer and marketer of chewing gum and now operates as an independent subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated. Mars was able to expand its chewing gum and confectionery business unit with the addition of such famous brands as Wrigley’s Extra, Orbit and Airwaves.
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