Mars to Invest $70 Million in U.S. Manufacturing

Mars Chocolate North America has announced a $70 million reinvestment in its U.S. supply chain, continuing a long-standing commitment to American manufacturing and innovation. This latest investment will add approximately 250 jobs to sites across the country, ensuring that more than 95% of Mars' chocolate products for the U.S. market are made here.

This latest pledge builds upon $1 billion in U.S. manufacturing investments over the past five years, which have added approximately 1,000 jobs across Mars' portfolio of segments including chocolate, Wrigley, food, petcare, drinks and symbioscience.  

"Mars believes in the value of keeping our operations in America — it's good for our people, our business and our consumers," said Tracey Massey, president of Mars Chocolate North America. "This investment will create new American jobs in communities across the country while also enabling us to offer more product innovation, choice and transparency to our consumers."

In 2016, Mars pledged to commit more than $900 million to its U.S. supply chain on top of a previous $1 billion investment. These investments include:

• Investing $72 million in Fort Smith, AK, to support Mars Petcare, creating 130 new jobs.
• Hiring 4,188 employees and opening 31 new Banfield hospitals in 2016, in addition to a new headquarters in Vancouver, WA.
• Investing $100 million in Royal Canin's new plant in New Sioux City, SD.
• Creating 23 jobs through the $4.8 million expansion of the Mars Symbioscience site in Germantown, MD.
• Investing $50 million to expand Wrigley's Yorkville, IL, facility, adding Skittles® production — leading to a 25% increase in jobs.
• Continuing to update the Mars Food Greenville, MS, factory through a $31 million investment that has created about 25 jobs.

Nielsen data shows that about 75% of millennials say buying American-made products is important to them. The latest Mars investment also comes at a moment when both consumers and retailers are demanding greater choice and seeking product variety across calorie and price options. 

"Our consumers ... are increasingly paying attention to what they eat, but they also want to treat themselves," said Massey. "Our supply chain transformation will allow us to balance consumers' unique, changing needs while continuing to meet demand for their most beloved products."