Mars Combines Chocolate and Wrigley Segments

Newly created Mars Wrigley Confectionery will be located in Chicago.

October 07, 2016

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. – Mars Chocolate and Wrigley segments will be combined to create Mars Wrigley Confectionery.

Mars notes in a press release that the new segment “will help us serve our customers better, address consumer trends and accelerate growth opportunities in a vibrant global confectionery category. We’re excited by the opportunities this combination will unlock for our associates, customers and consumers.”

Martin Radvan, current global president of Wrigley and a 30-year veteran of Mars, will lead the new Mars Wrigley Confectionery segment. With his extensive experience, he will guide the segment’s 30,000 associates operating in about 70 countries.

“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,” Radvan said.

Since Mars acquired Wrigley in 2008, Berkshire Hathaway has held a minority stake in Wrigley that was subject to purchase by Mars over time.

Grant F. Reid, office of the president and CEO of Mars, commented: “We are grateful for the strong and productive partnership we have with Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway. It is a great relationship that has yielded value on both sides. 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.”

The global hub for the new Mars Wrigley Confectionery will be in Chicago.

Mars Chocolate and Wrigley will continue to operate separately for the time being. Jean-Christophe Flatin will continue as president, Mars Global Chocolate; and Casey Keller, previously regional president of Wrigley Americas, will become president, Global Wrigley. The combination is proposed to be phased in during 2017.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement