Brandtree

Mars: brands it owns and its ownership tree

Mars is a family-owned company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, United States that owns 32 consumer brands across 2 categories, and has 3 recorded transactions.[1]

Mars is one of the largest privately held companies in the world, owned by the Mars family since Frank Mars began making sweets in Tacoma in 1911. It publishes no financial statements. Its four segments are snacking, pet nutrition, food and Mars Wrigley, and it agreed to acquire Kellanova in 2024.

Company facts

Legal name
Mars, Incorporated
Type
family-owned company · see all family-owned company owners
Headquarters
🇺🇸 McLean, Virginia, United States
Founded
1911
Wikidata
Q113124
Website
www.mars.com
Last verified
· 2 sources

Mars in numbers

Everything Mars owns

2026

Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.

Everything Mars owns Tree of 32 brands under Mars. Mars Altoids Banfield Pet Hospital Ben's Original Bounty Celebrations Cesar Combos Dolmio and 24 more

Full-screen interactive tree → · Download as infographic

Brand portfolio by category

Full portfolio, 32 brands, with sources →

Acquisitions by Mars

Rebrand closed

Ben's Original renamed

Mars renamed Uncle Ben's to Ben's Original and removed the image of an elderly Black man from the packaging, after criticism during the 2020 racial justice protests that the branding drew on a servant stereotype.

Value
Buyer
Mars
Seller
Regulatory
None recorded
Acquisition closed

Mars acquires Extra, Orbit, Skittles and Starburst

Mars acquired the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company for $80 a share in cash, financed in part by Berkshire Hathaway and Goldman Sachs. The deal created Mars Wrigley and made Mars the largest confectionery company in the world.

Value
$23bn
Buyer
Mars
Seller
Wrigley
Regulatory
None recorded

Full acquisition and divestiture timeline (3 deals) →

Latest news about Mars

No tagged news items yet. Headlines are added nightly from public feeds; only titles and links are stored.

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Frequently asked questions

What brands does Mars own?

Mars owns 32 consumer brands tracked here, including Juicy Fruit, IAMS, Nutro, Maltesers, Orbit and Mars.

Is Mars an American company?

Yes. Mars is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, United States and was founded in 1911.

Who owns Mars?

Mars is privately held. Mars is one of the largest privately held companies in the world, owned by the Mars family since Frank Mars began making sweets in Tacoma in 1911.

What was Mars' most recent acquisition?

The most recent completed acquisition recorded here is Ben's Original on 23 September 2020.

Sources (2) & corrections

Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.

  1. [1] Mars, Incorporated — our brands — Mars, Incorporated, Official document; retrieved 6 September 2026.
  2. [2] Kellanova Annual Report 2025 — Kellanova, Annual report, published 1 February 2026; retrieved 6 September 2026.

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