The beginnings of Mars

Founded in 1911 Frank and Ethel Mars in Tacoma, Washington the company. In 1923 her son changed Forrest the recipe of one Milkshakes and invented Milky way. followed in 1930 Snickers, named after the family's favorite horse, was created in 1932 by Forrest Mars Mars candy bars. He also invented it in 1941 M&M's, which were initially developed for the military.

In 1935 the British dog food manufacturer Chappi was taken over and in the following decades all well-known pet food brands such as Kitekat, Sheba, Whiskas, Frolic, Cesar and Pedigree.

In 1942 the rights to the easy-to-cook dish were acquired Parboiled rice. This company grew the brand in 1947 Uncle Ben's in the rice shop.

The European subsidiaries operated under the same name until September 1, 2007 Masterfoods . The pet food division was called Effem (after the initials “F. M.” of the company founder). In 2007, the names of Mars Incorporated's subsidiaries were standardized worldwide. On October 6, 2008, Mars took over The Wrigley Company for 23 billion dollars, the brand in 2012 Miracoli from the food company Kraft Foods.

In February 2016, Mars launched one in 59 countries Recall the brands Mars and Snickers, after in a Mars product plastic particles had been found.

In January 2017, the company made a takeover offer to veterinary clinic operator VCA Inc. (Veterinary Centers of America). Including debt, Mars wants to spend 9.1 billion US dollars (8.6 billion euros). That equates to $93 per share. In June 2018, Mars acquired the veterinary chain operating in the European market Anicura and builds that business area animal health continues.

At the beginning of 2021, a recall campaign of individual production batches of the Pedigree brand was started in Switzerland because it could not be ruled out that the affected products contained too much Vitamin D contained - which could have harmful consequences for the animal's health if consumed for several weeks.

In mid-2021, ice cream brands Snickers, Bounty, Twix and M&M's were recalled across Europe due to contamination with the carcinogenic substance ethylene oxide (ETO).

In April 2023, Mars acquired Heska, a provider of veterinary diagnostics and specialty products, for $1.3 billion. Continue reading...