Mars, Incorporated

Mars, Incorporated was founded in Tacoma, Washington in June 1911 by Franklin Clarence Mars, working from a small candy factory with his second wife Ethel. A century later, the firm his son Forrest Sr. built and the Mars family still owns is one of the largest privately held companies in the United States: a family holding whose confectionery arm makes Snickers, M&M’s, and Wrigley’s gum; whose Petcare arm makes Pedigree, Whiskas, and Royal Canin, and runs the Banfield, BluePearl, and VCA veterinary chains; and whose food and life-sciences arms round out the group. Headquarters have been in McLean, Virginia, since 1984.

The company operates through four principal divisions: Mars Snacking, the confectionery-and-gum arm that runs Snickers, M&M’s, Skittles, and the Wrigley portfolio (acquired for $23 billion in 2008); Mars Petcare, anchored by Royal Canin and the VCA, Banfield, and BluePearl veterinary chains; Mars Food, whose main property is Ben’s Original rice and prepared foods; and Mars Edge, the group’s smaller life-sciences arm. Petcare is now the largest business by revenue. In 2024 the group agreed to acquire Kellanova for $35.9 billion, adding Pringles, Cheez-It, and the remaining Kellogg snack brands to Snacking.

Among the largest American consumer-goods firms, Mars is unusual for two related things: it has never gone public, and it has remained wholly Mars-family-owned across four generations — a discipline maintained through the Wrigley acquisition, the VCA integration, and the 2024 Kellanova deal. Its five Principles (Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency, Freedom) are treated inside the firm as an operating charter rather than a wall poster; all employees, from factory-floor operators to divisional presidents, are addressed as Associates, a term that is functional, not decorative.