Mars Inc

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Mars is an American manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products, and a provider of animal care services. Mars is ranked as the 6th largest privately-held company in the USA.

Top 10 Plastic Polluter: #BreakFreeFromPlastic[1]

Company

Ownership

Mars FamilyWikipedia-W.svg

Timelines

Wm Wrigley Jr Company

The Wm Wrigley Jr Company, aka the Wrigley Company, is an American chewing gum company, part of Mars Wrigley Confectionery, and is the largest manufacturer and marketer of chewing gum in the world.[1],[2] Wrigley's is based in Chicago, Illinois.[3] wrigley.comArchive-org-sm.svg

  • Oct.2016: Mars Inc finally bought out Berkshire Hathaway Inc's remaining minority stake in Wrigleys.[2]
  • Apr.2008: Mars Inc announced its intent to acquire the Wrigley Company (80.7%),[3][4] with financing provided by private equity firms Berkshire Hathaway Inc (19%), Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan; Berkshire Hathaway held a minority equity investment in Wrigley until Oct.2016.[4],[5] The deal closed in July, after the European Commission approved the deal.[5]
  • Jan.2007: A Korkunov: Wrigley agreed to acquire an 80% initial interest in the Russian luxury chocolate manufacturer from Nabisco, with the outstanding 20% to be acquired over time.[6]
  • Nov.2004: Life Savers and Altoids businesses were purchased from Kraft Foods Inc, who were divesting them as part of a reorganization plan.[6],[7]
  • 1984: Extra sugarfree gum was introduced in response to demand for a sugar-free product.
  • Mid-1970s: Freedent, Big Red cinnamon, and Hubba Bubba bubble gum were introduced.
  • 1965-1991: Expansion: factories were built in: the Philippines (1965); France (1967); Austria (1968); Kenya (1971); Taiwan (1978); and China (1991).
  • 1946: Post WWII: Wrigley's Spearmint came back on the market, with Juicy Fruit following later that year. Doublemint reappeared in 1947.
  • 1940: WWII: war conditions meant supplies of ingredients became so scarce that the company completely stopped making its established brands. Only a special wartime brand was supplied to the Armed Forces.
  • 1927: Expansion: a factory was established in the UK, with another in New Zealand following in 1939.
  • 1923: Listing: its common stock was first listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
  • 1919: Wm Wrigley Jr Company became a public corporation.

Origins

  • 1915: Expansion: a factory was established in Australia.
  • 1911: Zero Company, which had been making Wrigley's gum since 1892, was acquired.
  • 1910: Expansion: the first non-USA factory was established in Canada.
  • 1910: Wrigley's Spearmint had become the top-selling chewing gum in the USA.
  • 1893: Flavours were introduced: Juicy Fruit and Wrigley's Spearmint.
  • 1892: Wrigley Chewing Gum: Wrigley started offering gum as the free incentive to his baking powder customers. Again, it became clear that customers were more interested in gum than baking powder.
  • Apr.1981: Wrigley's Scouring Soap: William Wrigley Jr arrived in Chicago with an idea, $32, and his small family. The plan was to sell soap for his father's company (for which he had worked for 20 years) offering baking powder as a free incentive. When baking powder proved to be more popular than soap, he switched to the baking powder business.
Sources: The story of the Wrigley Company. Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company. Original archived on Mar.02.2000."The 1900s.", Bob Batchelor, Greenwood Press, 2002, ISBN: 0313313342

References

  1. ^ The Brand Audit Report, Vol.1 Over the next 10 years, plastic production is slated to increase by 40%. Traditionally made from oil byproducts, but now increasingly made using fracked gas. Recycling is not a feasible solution to the plastic pollution crisis. Many plastics are very difficult, or impossible, to recycle. Megacorps make $billions of profits from the plastic-wrapped products - but leave communities to pay for and manage the negative impacts. As the food and products contained in plastic are consumed, people are accumulating phthalates and endocrine-disrupting chemicals in their bloodstreams. Break Free From Plastic, Oct.2018.
  2. ^ Mars buys Warren Buffett’s stake in Wrigley’s gum. James Dean, The Times, Oct.07.2016.
  3. ^ Warren Buffett’s stake helps Mars take over Wrigley. The Times, Apr.29.2008.
  4. ^ Mars, Buffett Team Up in Wrigley Bid. The Wall Street Journal, Apr.28.2008.
  5. ^ Mars and Wrigley merge. The Times, Jul.29.2008.
  6. ^ Kraft Foods Will Sell Altoids and Life Savers to Wrigley. The New York Times, Nov.16.2004.