FAQs

Based in McLean, Virginia, Mars has net sales of more than $30 billion and six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks and Symbioscience. More than 65,000 Associates worldwide are putting our Mars Principles in action every day to make a difference for people and the planet through our performance.

Mars brands include: Petcare – PEDIGREE^®, WHISKAS^®, SHEBA^®, CESAR^® and ROYAL CANIN^®; Chocolate – M&M’S^®, SNICKERS^®, DOVE^®, GALAXY^®, MARS^®, MILKY WAY^® and TWIX^®; Wrigley – ORBIT^®, EXTRA^®, STARBURST^®, DOUBLEMINT^® and SKITTLES^®; Food – UNCLE BEN’S^®, DOLMIO^®, MASTERFOODS^® and SEEDS OF CHANGE^®; Drinks – ALTERRA COFFEE ROASTERS™, THE BRIGHT TEA CO.™, KLIX^® and FLAVIA^®; Symbioscience –COCOAVIA™, SERAMIS^® and WISDOM PANEL^®.

The Five Principles are a philosophy of values that leads and guides our company. These Principles are Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom. In one form or another, the Five Principles of Mars have guided our company since its very beginning over 90 years ago. More than a statement of values, they are a set of fundamental beliefs that help to shape and define Mars as a company.

Over the years, they have been reviewed and refined, yet in essence they remain unchanged. The Five Principles are the real explanation for our success and the formula for our future. They express our vision of not only of who we are, but where - and what - we want to be. Simply put, they are our inspiration. Put into practice daily by our associates all over the world, the Five Principles have developed into a practical, effective and unique way of doing business that collectively and individually sets Mars apart. For further information please see our Five Principles section.

At Mars, we are proud of the fact that we make some of the world’s best-loved chocolate, but we are much more than a chocolate company. To know Mars, Incorporated is to understand our heritage, the Five Principles that guide us every day and are at the heart of how we operate, and have helped us become a successful global food business.

Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom are the Five Principles that unite us across generations, geographies, languages and cultures. As a privately-owned business, we have the freedom to invest in the long-term and to make sustainable business decisions that will help us endure for generations to come. Our business purpose, first expressed by Forrest E. Mars, Sr. in the early 1930s, calls upon us to create mutual benefits for all of our stakeholders. This purpose, and the stewardship of the Mars Family, inspires us to put our Principles into action in everything we do, and strive to make a difference to people and the planet through our performance. To learn more, please read our Principles in Action Summary.

As one of our Five Principles, quality is our goal in everything we set out to achieve: the products we make, the services we provide and the people who make up the Mars team. For Mars, quality is measurable. Quality means guaranteeing consumers that our brands will live up to their expectations - time after time, without deviation. Quality is the result of unremitting attention to detail at every stage from picking the right raw materials to selecting Mars people who are excited by quality in their work. We can only deliver the quality we promise consumers if everyone at Mars is focused on this principle. For further information, please see our Quality section.

Please visit the brand sites for more information on the respective product, you can find a list of them here.

Allergies

At Mars, we take food allergies very seriously because they affect our consumers. We have an extensive allergen management program which includes staff training, evaluating our ingredients and validating our cleaning procedures.

In order to avoid an allergic reaction to food, we know you must avoid the allergen. To do so, you count on the ingredient statements on food labels to be truthful and accurate. We want you to be able to trust the information on our labels. At Mars, our goal is to provide safe, high quality food products for our consumers. Therefore, we have developed strict rules about the labeling of allergens on our products.

Our allergen labeling policy consists of two parts:

I. Labeling of allergens that are part of the recipe:

1. We will always declare the presence of any of the top allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, soy, wheat, fish and crustacean shellfish) whenever they are part of the recipe regardless of the source (e.g., flavors, spices, colors, other minor ingredients, etc.).
2. We label these allergens in commonly understood terms at least once within the ingredient listing (e.g., casein (milk)

II. Use of “May Contain ” labeling: It is our company policy that if the protein from any one of the top eight allergens* were to be unintentionally transferred from one product/ingredient to another then we would clearly indicate this in a statement just below the ingredient declaration ("Allergy Information: May Contain "). To be clear, we use the “May Contain ” statement when:

1. We have used all reasonable means to eliminate the allergen cross contact; and
2. We have documented proof that, despite our best cleaning efforts, allergen cross contact still exists.

Position of Allergen Advisory Labeling Statements:

The primary source of information for consumers about the allergen status of our products is the wrapper in which the product is sold. Our company guidelines state that when an allergen advisory statement is required it will:

1. Appear below/adjacent to the ingredient declaration
2. Not be obscured by the package (e.g., folds, label overlap, crimps)
3. Be clearly legible

Always Read the Label

The label is the best source in determining what is in the product. The ingredient listing and allergen statement provide information on ingredients that may be of concern to you.

If you would like additional information we are pleased to provide a toll-free number on all of our product packages. You may also contact Consumer Care at 1 (800) 627-7852. For general information about food allergies, please visit the website of the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN): http://www.foodallergy.org

To learn more about our community engagement, please visit our section on Working at Mars in the Principles in Action Summary.

To contact Mars directly, please contact us.

Because Mars, Incorporated is responsible for such a wide range of products, it is best to go directly to the brand site in order to obtain any promotional material. A full brand list can be found on your local country site, where you can search the ‘Our Brands’ section for the product you are interested in.

This depends upon the brand you require merchandise from. Some of our global brands such as M&M’S feature specific site sections where you can browse and purchase a range of merchandise. See www.mymms.com/merchandise/ for an example.

Alternatively, you can reach out to the brand directly via the ‘Contact us’ form on their brand website, making sure to clearly note your contact details so we can get in touch.

If you require brand logos or product photos, the latest of these are can be found on our Media Library.

Please contact our Consumer Care team directly through our contact form and we will do our best to reunite you with your favorite Mars product.