other uses see mars disambiguation . mars incorporated type private industry food processing founded 1911 ; 105 years ago 1911 tacoma washington founder franklin clarence mars headquarters 6885 elm street mclean virginia area served worldwide key people victoria b. mars chairman grant f. reid president and ceo products confectionery chocolate bars ; gum ; candy ; mints ; beverages ; foodstuffs ; pet food major brands in alphabetical order include 3 musketeers 5 big red bounty doublemint dove galaxy eclipse extra freedent hubba bubba juicy fruit life savers m & m s mars milky way orbit pedigree skittles snickers starburst spearmint twix uncle ben s rice whiskas winterfresh food animal products services animal care revenue us 33 billion 2014 1 owner mars family number of employees 75 000 2014 1 subsidiaries wrigley company website www.mars.com mars incorporated is an american global manufacturer of confectionery pet food and other food products with us 33 billion in annual sales in 2015 2 and is ranked as the 6th largest privately held company in the united states by forbes . 3 headquartered in mclean unincorporated fairfax county virginia us 4 5 the company is entirely owned by the mars family . mars operates in six business segments around the world chocolate hackettstown new jersey petcare brussels belgium poncitl n and jalisco mexico wm. wrigley jr. company chicago illinois food rancho dominguez california drinks west chester pennsylvania and symbioscience germantown maryland the company s life sciences division . 6 7 contents 1 history 1.1 mars food uk limited 1.1.1 mars drinks uk 1.2 recent history 1.2.1 masterfoods 1.2.2 mars petcare 2 factories 3 consumer relations 3.1 opposition to labeling of genetically engineered ingredients in california 3.2 removal of artificial ingredients to food portfolio 4 criticism 5 products 5.1 products for human consumption 5.1.1 products manufactured by the wrigley company 5.2 products for pet consumption 5.3 discontinued product lines 6 services 7 awards and honors 8 see also 9 references 10 further reading 11 external links history edit mars is a company known for the confectionery items that it creates 8 such as mars bars milky way bars m & m s skittles snickers and twix . they also produce non confectionery snacks such as combos and other foods including uncle ben s rice and pasta sauce brand dolmio as well as pet foods such as pedigree and whiskas brands . orbit gum is among the most popular brands managed by the mars subsidiary brand wrigley . during world war ii wrigley was selling their eponymous gum only to soldiers while orbit was sold to the public . though abandoned shortly after the war about 30 years later orbit made a comeback in america during the chewing gum craze . 9 mars whose mother taught him to hand dip candy sold candy by age 19 . 10 he started the mars candy factory in 1911 with ethel v. mars his second wife in tacoma washington . 10 this factory produced and sold fresh candy wholesale 10 but ultimately the venture failed . 11 12 by 1920 mars had returned to his home state minnesota where the earliest incarnation of the present day mars company was founded that year as mar o bar co. in minneapolis 13 and later incorporated there as mars incorporated . 10 forrest mars sr. son of frank and his first wife who was also named ethel was inspired by a popular type of milkshake 14 in 1923 to introduce the milky way bar advertised as a chocolate malted milk in a candy bar 15 which became the best selling candy bar . 13 in 1929 frank moved the company to chicago illinois and started full production in a plant which still exists today . 16 in 1930 frank mars created the snickers bar and first sold it in us markets . in 1932 forrest started mars limited in the united kingdom and launched the mars bar . mars is still a family business owned by the mars family . the company is famous for its secrecy . a 1993 washington post magazine article was a rare raising of the veil as the reporter was able to see the m s being applied to the m & m s something that no out sider had ever before been invited to observe . 17 in 1999 for example the company did not acknowledge that forrest mars sr. had died or that he had worked for the company . 18 the company published its principles in action communication in september 2011 . this communication outlines the history of mars its legacy as a business committed to its five principles and the company s goal of putting its principles into action to make a difference to people and the planet through performance . encompassing themes of health and nutrition supply chain operations products and working at mars the principles in action communication outlines mars incorporated s targets progress and ongoing challenges . it also describes its businesses including petcare chocolate wrigley food drinks symbioscience . 19 mars incorporated has developed a reputation across its leading markets to be an excellent training ground for managers . in the united kingdom for instance many ceos of large companies learned their trade at mars inc. including former mars executives allan leighton the former appointed ceo of the supermarket chain asda and then the british postal service royal mail and justin king former ceo of the retailer sainsbury s. recently the company caught on to that and re branded their employer brand mars the ultimate business school . 20 moving into the fourth generation of family ownership the company recently passed from family leadership into non family leadership ; however the business is still owned by the mars family . the global ceo of mars inc. is paul michaels . michaels is part of a new group of non family management that has taken over since the retirement of john and forrest mars jr. the family now oversees the business as a council or board of directors . citation needed in the united states the company has manufacturing facilities in hackettstown new jersey ; albany georgia ; burr ridge illinois ; minneapolis minnesota ; chicago illinois ; and mattoon illinois ; cleveland tennessee ; columbia south carolina ; columbus ohio ; elizabethtown pennsylvania ; greenville mississippi ; greenville and waco texas ; henderson and reno nevada ; fort smith arkansas ; joplin missouri ; miami oklahoma ; and galena kansas . their newest facility is situated in topeka kansas . their canadian facilities are located in bolton and newmarket ontario . 21 mars food uk limited edit mars food uk limited is the name of the british branch of mars inc. the company is based in slough uk . mars brands manufactured for the uk market but not for the us include maltesers and tunes . in 1932 forrest mars sr. opened what was then mars europe headquarters and remains mars uk headquarters in slough berkshire 18 on the then new slough trading estate after a disagreement with his father franklin clarence mars . in this factory he produced the first mars bar based on the american milky way . 22 in 1936 mars separated the vanilla version of milky way to a separate brand forever yours which was discontinued and later reintroduced as milky way dark and later still milky way midnight . citation needed many brands first created and sold in britain were later introduced in the u.s. including starburst original uk brand name opal fruits and skittles . the brands twix and topic were uk based . milky way in europe and worldwide is known as the 3 musketeers in america . similarly the snickers bar was previously marketed in ireland and the united kingdom as marathon until 1990 ; in the uk france germany and the netherlands also until 1990 ; galaxy in the middle east is known as dove in america and worldwide ; and starburst was known in the uk and ireland as opal fruits until 1998 . chocolate and peanut m & m s were introduced in 1990 . mars drinks uk edit mars drinks uk the beverages division of mars limited operates from basingstoke in hampshire and specializes in office vending machines . mars drinks uk comprises the flavia and klix brands which offer branded drinks such as the starburst orange drink the maltesers hot chocolate and the galaxy drinks . mars drinks also produces coffee and the equipment used to make it . in 1982 flavia was created out of the high demand for coffee in the united kingdom . initially marketed as dimension 3 until 1989 flavia was introduced in france and germany in 1986 and japan in 1992 then brought to the united states in 1996 and to canada in 1997 . other products such as cappuccino were introduced in 2002 and tea in 2004 . 23 recent history edit until being sold in june 2006 a division of mars known as mars electronics international mei produced among other products coin mechanisms such as those used in vending machines . mei also manufactured bill validators which were among the most common bill validators found in the us . citation needed mars purchase of doane petcare company in june 2007 significantly increased mars position in the u.s. dry pet food category . in addition to these businesses mars also operates a chain of premium chocolate shops across the united states called ethel m chocolates . these shops are an outgrowth of the ethel m premium chocolate business that forrest mars started in las vegas in 1980 when he became bored with retirement . 24 in 2007 mars undertook a major rebranding operation which saw among other global changes four square s being renamed mars drinks the pet food division formerly part of masterfoods being renamed mars petfoods and masterfoods itself the largest division of mars incorporated being renamed mars snacks citation needed . on april 28 2008 mars incorporated together with berkshire hathaway incorporated announced the buyout of wm. wrigley jr. company the world s largest chewing gum producer for 23 billion in an all cash deal . the two companies together are expected to generate sales in excess of 27 billion . citation needed the company spent more than 1.8 million on lobbying during 2008 almost all of it at patton boggs where it has long been one of the largest lobbying clients . mars also spent 10 000 at skadden arps slate meagher & flom . in 2009 mars also hired ernst & young to lobby on corporate and international tax issues including issues related to tax changes proposed by the obama administration . the company spent another 1 655 000 that year . 25 a further mars business four square utilize those products formerly made at mei in their vending machines . four square comprises the flavia and klix brands . flavia operates within the japanese uk and us markets while klix operates within france germany and the uk . citation needed in 2014 mars opened a new 270 million chocolate plant in topeka kansas the first new plant in the usa in 35 years . 26 masterfoods edit the european division is headquartered in brussels belgium and was known as masterfoods europe until the end of 2007 . the name masterfoods originally came from a food business founded by the lewis family in 1949 in australia and acquired by mars in 1967 . the canadian division formerly effem inc. is based in bolton ontario . citation needed the company announced at the end of 2008 that all business units were adopting the name mars . masterfoods ceased to be a business name but continues as the brand name of food products in australia . the latter are produced at berkeley vale near wyong on the nsw central coast . citation needed mars petcare edit in february 2003 mars acquired aquarium pharmaceuticals inc. 27 api incorporated