Mars Inc.
The company's famous candy bars. (Photo: Graham Barclay/Bloomberg News)
About Mars Inc.
6885 Elm St., McLean, Va. 22101
www.mars.com
| 703-821-4900
| Founded: 1911
Industry: Manufacturing | Category: Top Private Companies
Besides making M&Ms and other popular candies, Mars produces Uncle Ben's rice, pet food and beverage vending machines. New on its menu is Snickers Charged, a candy bar with a cup of coffee's worth of caffeine. Last year, Mars vowed to use 100 percent cocoa butter in its chocolate, bucking an industry push to allow vegetable-oil substitutes. Like rival Hershey and other confectioners, Mars is facing civil suits in the United States and queries from governments abroad on allegations of price-fixing.
2007 Financial Data
Total employees: 48,000 | Local employees: 50Did You Know
HOME-SCHOOLED: Afflicted with polio as a child, founder Frank C. Mars spent a lot of time in the kitchen with his mother, a candymaker who taught him to hand-dip chocolate.
