Snacks & Candy

UPDATE: Mars 250-Calorie Commitment

Candy maker clarifies media reports

MCLEAN, Va. -- Mars Inc., the maker of Snickers and Twix candy bars, is clarifying its 250-calorie commitment after some media statements incorrectly implied that it will no longer have any larger-format offerings.

Click here to read previous coverage.

"Mars already has made the switch from the former King Size bar to a multi-piece format to enable sharing or saving a piece for later, and we label these items as '2toGo', '4toGo' and 'Sharing Size'," a Mars spokesperson told CSP Daily News. "We've also incorporated a new wrapper with 'memory' that is unique to the chocolate category. We call it 'Twist Wrap' and it empowers the consumer to be able to twist the wrapper closed, making it easier to save a piece for later. These formats generally represent more than a single portion and are clearly labeled as such."

She added, "Mars has a broad-based commitment to health and nutrition, and this includes a number of global initiatives--our industry-leading 2007 announcement to no longer market our chocolate products directly to children under 12; a category-first calories on front-of-pack label; complete elimination of trans fat; a meaningful reduction in saturated fat; and efforts to manage portions and calories. In addition, we've introduced several new products that are well under 200 calories."

Mars Chocolate North America is the North American chocolate operations of Mars Inc. Based in McLean, Va., Mars has net sales of more than $30 billion and six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks and Symbioscience.

Mars brands include Chocolate: M&M's, Snickers, Dove, Galaxy, Mars, Milky Way and Twix; Petcare: Pedigree, Whiskas, Sheba, Cesar and Royal Canin; Wrigley: Orbit, Extra, Starburst, Doublemint and Skittles; Food: Uncle Ben's, Dolmio, Ebly, Masterfoods and Seeds of Change; Drinks: Alterra Coffee Roasters, The Bright Tea Co., Klix and Flavia; and Symbioscience: Seramis, Cirku and Cocoavia.

Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.

Multimedia

Exclusive Content

Foodservice

Opportunities Abound With Limited-Time Offers

For success, complement existing menu offerings, consider product availability and trends, and more, experts say

Snacks & Candy

How Convenience Stores Can Improve Meat Snack, Jerky Sales

Innovation, creative retailers help spark growth in the snack segment

Technology/Services

C-Stores Headed in the Right Direction With Rewards Programs

Convenience operators are working to catch up to the success of loyalty programs in other industries

Trending

More from our partners