About MARI

The Mars Advanced Research Institute (MARI)
connects Mars with emerging science and
technology to spark discoveries with the potential to
re-invent the future of our business.

Comprised of scientific experts in fields relevant for sustainability, health and wellness, and computational science, the MARI team seek out scientific and technological opportunities to develop breakthroughs for Mars, our people and the planet.

Our science and technology strength translates into business impact, opening doors for Mars and the wider industry. We connect Mars with hundreds of external academic, research and scientific partners in areas of strategic interest for our business, working together to provide Mars with the capabilities, connectivity and resources needed to transform ideas into action.

View the MARI infographic

Our research challenges and opportunities

MARI focuses on five key Strategic Platforms that are vital for the future of the Mars business:

Computational Driven Discovery, Tools & Systems

Using computational modeling and artificial intelligence to accelerate innovation.

Packaging

Following a data-driven, scientific approach to packaging innovations, unlocking solutions that drive positive environmental impact and social benefits.

Raw Materials

Enabling the transformation of raw materials and development of new products, ingredients and next generation technologies that can be used to reduce our carbon footprint and fuel innovation opportunities.

Health and Wellness

Improving the health and wellbeing of pets and animals, through understanding the role of active ingredients, biomarkers of health and the microbiome.

Food Safety

Strengthening and widening food safety capabilities across our entire supply chain, in partnership with the Mars Global Food Safety Center(Opens a new window).

Our process to deliver value

We are constantly scanning beyond the horizon for new science and technology led discoveries.
We develop new ideas through partnerships with some of the world’s best academic, research and scientific organizations.
Our discoveries deliver measurable strategic and financial value for Mars, and positively impact society.

Some of our achievements

MARI is embedded in the external world, putting collaboration at the heart of what we do. Alongside our partners, we have:

Enabled the genome sequencing of 101 traditional African food crops traditionally neglected by science, in partnership with the African Orphan Crops Consortium.

Discovered a naturally occurring blue dye, found in red cabbage, with the potential to solve the food industry’s long standing blue dye challenge. The naturally occurring dye can provide the industry with a viable source of naturally produced blue and green colorants that meet evolving consumer preferences.

Used crowdsourcing to develop a novel method for tackling the problem of aflatoxin, a food-borne carcinogen that contaminates grains and groundnuts. The launch of a novel online game saw players redesign an enzyme to eradicate Aflatoxin B1, utilizing the power of science in new and novel ways.

Our history

MARI was established to enhance the Mars approach to driving transformational innovation and to build a scientific and technological foundation that goes beyond the capabilities of the Mars segments.

View the MARI timeline

A history of MARI

2013: MARI is born.
2018: The Mars Advanced Research Virtual Environment Lab (MARVEL) is established. MARVEL, a Mars dedicated high-performance computing cluster sits at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Developed in partnership with the University of Tennessee’s National Institute for Computational Sciences(Opens a new window), MARVEL enables advanced modeling and data analytics capabilities to be at the center of scientific research.
2019: Enhancing understanding of how fiber composition can influence the microbiome. A novel method to characterize the fiber composition in common foods developed by MARI and UC Davis is licensed to start-up partner BCD Bioscience(Opens a new window). The new method can be used to enhance understanding of the way that fiber composition can impact and influence the microbiome in humans and pets.
2019: Leveraging veterinary health data to predict disease in pets. MARI, together with the Banfield Pet Hospital(Opens a new window)’s Research & Knowledge team, the WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition(Opens a new window) and external artificial intelligence partner PIPA(Opens a new window), works to demonstrate proof of concept for prediction of chronic kidney disease in cats. This marks the first time that veterinary health data is used to predict illness in pets long before symptoms, paving the way for future advances in predictive diagnostics.
2020: The AI-research assistant unlocks opportunities for new Mars products promoting oral health. MARI completes the first pilot of the AI-research assistant, an exciting tool with potential to fuel AI-driven scientific discovery. The AI-research assistant is providing valuable insights that are fueling research to enhance Mars Wrigley’s understanding of the oral microbiome. A multi-year development plan for the AI-research assistant is launched in 2021.
2021: Discovering enzyme engineering routes to natural blue. MARI, Mars Wrigley and the University of California, Davis, patent and publish a decade of research on the discovery of a new type of naturally occurring blue pigment found in red cabbage, presenting a novel solution to the food industry’s long standing blue dye challenge. IP is licensed to start up partner Peak B for scale up and commercialization.

Mapping mint flavor

Mint essential oils are used extensively across the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

But the future of the mint crop, and these essential oils, are under threat:

Your favorite food group, but better

We know our consumers are rightly concerned about the long-term health effects of the foods they consume. We’re working in collaboration with the University of California, Davis on carbohydrate and pre-biotic design to open doors to a new world of customized food products: