Mars Inc. to combine chocolate, Wrigley gum operations under one brand

Mars Inc. announced Thursday it is merging its chocolate operations with its Wrigley chewing gum unit to form Mars Wrigley Confectionery, a new branch that will begin operations in 2017 and be headquartered in Chicago. File Photo by Radu Bercan/Shutterstock

CHICAGO, Oct. 7 (UPI) — Mars Inc. is merging its chocolate and chewing gum operations into one unit, the company announced Thursday.

Mars chocolate and its Wrigley unit are joining to form Mars Wrigley Confectionery.

“The new segment, which brings together the successful century-long heritages of Mars Chocolate and Wrigley, will help us serve our customers better, address consumer trends and accelerate growth opportunities in a vibrant global confectionery category,” the company said in a statement Thursday.

Mars Wrigley will handle some of Mars’ most valuable products — including M&Ms, Snickers, Lifesavers and its several chewing gum varieties.

“Mars Wrigley Confectionery brings together two great businesses, strengthening our ability to create win-win relationships with our customers, and improving our opportunities to address dynamic retail and consumer trends together,” Martin Radvan, Mars’ Global President of Wrigley, said.

Mars acquired Wrigley in 2008, but investment house Berkshire Hathaway has retained a minority interest in the chewing gum maker. In making Thursday’s announcement, Mars acknowledged that it has accelerated its planned purchase of Berkshire’s outstanding equity.

“We are grateful for the strong and productive partnership we have with Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway,” Mars CEO Grant F. Reid said. “We’re equally pleased that sole ownership of Wrigley provides us with an opportunity to rethink how we simplify our Chocolate and Wrigley businesses so that we can bring a more holistic approach to this vibrant category.”

Mars Chocolate and Wrigley will continue to operate separately until next year, officials said. Mars Wrigley Confectionery will be headquartered in Chicago.

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