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Mars makes and sells candy, chewing gum, and pet food, plus it runs a large veterinary hospital business.
Mars is a private, family-owned giant that sells two very different kinds of everyday products: sweets people eat and food and care for pets. You probably know it from Snickers, M&M's, Twix, Skittles, and Orbit gum. It is also the world's biggest pet food company, thanks to brands like Pedigree, Royal Canin, Whiskas, and Cesar.
The candy business is simple to understand: Mars makes chocolate bars and sugary snacks and sells them to grocery stores, convenience stores, and vending operators, who then sell them to you. The pet side is where the quiet money is. Pet food is a repeat purchase — a bag runs out and the owner buys another — so it produces steady, predictable sales. Mars has also pushed into pet healthcare by acquiring veterinary hospital chains, which lets it earn money from the people who care for the animals, not just the animals' dinner. Mars stays private, so its shares don't trade, and the family keeps tight control. It rarely publishes detailed financials, though it is one of the largest private companies in the United States, with annual revenue well into the tens of billions of dollars. It has grown largely by buying brands and businesses that fit its two worlds, then leaning on its massive distribution network to get them onto shelves. Its biggest rivals in candy include The Hershey Company and Mondelez International, while in pet food it competes with Nestlé and Colgate-Palmolive, which owns Hill's Pet Nutrition.
The company's edge is scale and habit. Candy is a cheap, impulse buy, and Mars products sit near the checkout where small spending feels painless. Pet food is stickier: pet owners are loyal and rarely switch without reason. Mars has also spent heavily to buy its way into veterinary care, betting that owning the clinics gives it a direct relationship with pet owners and a place to sell food and medicine. That strategy makes it less dependent on a single shelf of chocolate and more like a full-service pet business with a candy habit on the side.
Saved answer · last researched 4 Nov 2026