Mars, Inc. is the largest candy company in the United States, boasting such venerable brands as M&M’s, Milky Way, Three Musketeers, Snickers, Skittles, Starburst Fruit Chews, and Twix. With its purchase in 2008 of the chewing gum giant Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co., it added brands like Life Savers, Altoids, Doublemint, and Orbit to this iconic lineup, becoming a confectionery behemoth with global sales estimated at more than $30 billion. It is one of the largest privately held firms in the United States, being wholly owned by the Mars family of northern Virginia. The company operates a pet food division and owns Uncle Ben’s Rice and other food brands, but the majority of its sales derives from candy brands that are household names worldwide.
