Mars, commonly known as Mars bar, is the name of two varieties of

chocolate bar A chocolate bar (Commonwealth English) or candy bar (some dialects of American English) is a confection containing chocolate, which may also contain layerings or mixtures that include nuts, fruit, caramel, nougat, and wafers. A flat, easily brea ...

produced by

Mars, Incorporated Mars, Incorporated is an American multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products and a provider of animal care services, with US$40 billion in annual sales in 2021. Mars was ranked as the fourth-largest priva ...

. It was first manufactured in 1932 in

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

, England by

Forrest Mars, Sr. Forrest Edward Mars Sr. (March 21, 1904 – July 1, 1999) was an American billionaire businessman and the driving force of the Mars candy empire. He is best known for introducing Milky Way (1924) and Mars (1932) chocolate candy bars, and M&M's ( ...

The bar consists of

caramel Caramel ( or ) is an orange-brown confectionery product made by heating a range of sugars. It can be used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, or as a topping for ice cream and custard. The process of caramelizatio ...

and

nougat Nougat ( , ; ; az, nuqa; fa, نوقا) is a family of confections made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, and macadamia nuts are common), whipped egg whites, and sometimes chopped candied fruit. The c ...

coated with

milk chocolate Milk chocolate is a solid chocolate confectionery containing cocoa, sugar and milk. Chocolate was originally sold and consumed as a beverage in pre-Columbian times, and upon its introduction to Western Europe. Major milk chocolate producers incl ...

. An American version of the Mars bar was produced which had nougat and toasted

almond The almond (''Prunus amygdalus'', syn. ''Prunus dulcis'') is a species of tree native to Iran and surrounding countries, including the Levant. The almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus ...

s covered in milk chocolate; later, caramel was added to the recipe as well. The American version was discontinued in 2002, then revived in a slightly different form the following year under the name " Snickers Almond".

Versions

UK and worldwide

In most of the world, a Mars bar is a chocolate bar with nougat and caramel, coated with milk chocolate, but without almonds. In the United States, it is marketed as the

Milky Way bar Milky Way is a brand of chocolate-covered confectionery bar manufactured and marketed by Mars, Incorporated. There are two varieties: the US Milky Way bar, which is sold as the Mars bar worldwide, including Canada; and the global Milky Way bar, ...

. It was first manufactured in

, England under the Mars bar name in 1932 by

, son of American candy maker

Frank C. Mars Franklin Clarence Mars (; September 24, 1883 – April 8, 1935) was an American business magnate who founded the food company Mars, Incorporated, which mostly makes chocolate candy. Mars' son Forrest Mars Sr., Forrest Edward Mars developed M& ...

. He modelled it after his father's Milky Way bar, which was already popular in the US, adjusting the recipe to better suit European tastes. He had a staff of twelve people, and originally advertised it as using Cadbury's chocolate couverture. The bar and the proportions of the main components have changed over the years. With minor variations, this version is sold worldwide, except for the US, and is packaged in a black wrapper with red gold-edged lettering. Three million Mars bars accompanied the British task force to the

Falklands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

in 1982. In 2002, the Mars bar was reformulated and its logo was updated with a more cursive appearance except in Australia where it still has the pre-2002 logo. Its price also increased. The nougat was made lighter, the chocolate on top became thinner, and the overall weight of the bar was reduced slightly. The slogan "Pleasure you can't measure" was intended to appeal more to women and youths. Various sizes are made (sizes as of 2008): miniature bars called "Fun Size" (19.7 g) and "Snack Time" (36.5 g) (both sold in multiple packs); a larger multi-pack size of 54 g; the regular sized single 58 g bar and a "king-size" 84 g bar which has since been replaced by "Mars Duo" (85 g) – a pack that contains 2 smaller bars of 42.5 g each instead of 1 large one. The regular 58 g single bar contains 260 calories. In the second half of 2008, Mars UK reduced the weight of regular bars from 62.5 g to 58 g. Although the reduction in size was not publicised at the time, Mars claimed the change was designed to help tackle the obesity crisis in the UK. The company later confirmed that the real reason for the change was rising costs. In 2013, the "standard" Mars bar was further reduced to 51 g, bringing the change to around 20% in 5 years. In May 2009, the Mars bar size reduced from 60g to 53g in Australia, citing portion sizes and the obesity debate as the primary driver. As of 2022, it was noted the Mars bar size has been reduced further to 47g in Australia.

United States

In the United States, the Mars bar is a candy bar with

and toasted

s coated with

. The same candy bar is known outside the United States as a Mars Almond bar. Originally it did not have

, but at some point caramel was added to it. It was discontinued in 2002, relaunched in January 2010 (initially exclusively through

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

stores), discontinued again at the end of 2011, and relaunched again in September 2016 by

Ethel M Ethel (also '' æthel'') is an Old English word meaning "noble", today often used as a feminine given name. Etymology and historic usage The word means ''æthel'' "noble". It is frequently attested as the first element in Anglo-Saxon names, b ...

, the gourmet chocolate subsidiary of Mars, Incorporated. The 2016 version is the "original American recipe", which doesn't have caramel. It's available in their stores and on Amazon.com. In 2003, the company introduced a replacement called Snickers Almond. It's similar to the Mars bar, containing nougat, almonds, caramel, and a milk chocolate coating, although there are some differences. For example, the almonds are in smaller pieces in Snickers Almond than in the Mars bar. The European version of the Mars bar is also sold in some United States grocery stores that stock imported food products. Mars-Almond-split

Spinoff products

Other products have also been released using the Mars branding. *Mars Bites/Bouchées (Canada) *Mars Delight (discontinued in the UK in 2009) *Mars Choc Brownie *Mars Extra Chocolate Drink *Mars Active Energy Drink *Mars No Added Sugar Drink *Mars Ice Cream bars *Mars Midnight Ice Cream bars *McVities Mars Mini Rolls *Mars Biscuits (Australia and the UK – a biscuit with Mars topping) *Mars Pods (Australia and New Zealand – a small crunchy wafer shell with Mars filling, also available in variants) *Mars Rocks *Mars Planets *Mars Mix *Mars Frozen Dessert Bar *Mars Protein – A Mars bar with less sugar and added protein, this comes as a 50g size. Packaging claims "More protein, 40% less sugar" to a normal Mars bar.

Custom packaging

The Original Mars bar in "Believe" packaging was sold in the UK from 18 April 2006 until the end of the

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

in July. "Believe" took prominence on the packaging ("Original Mars" appeared in smaller print) to indicate support for the

England national football team The England national football team has represented England in international Association football, football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in Engl ...

. Advertising in other nations of the UK was tailored to reflect their own teams after public condemnation, although in Scotland the "Believe" packaging was still used – causing negative publicity. On 30 July 2008, the

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

n government announced that it had secured a major sponsor, Mars for a bid to enter the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

in a deal worth $4 million over 3 years and will temporarily change the name of its top-selling chocolate bar in Australia to Believe, to help promote Tasmania's cause. Mars were re-branded "Hopp" ("Go!" in English) in Switzerland during

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

. Like the "Believe" packaging sold in the UK in 2006, "Original Mars" was also shown in smaller print. In 2010, to promote England's involvement in the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

, the background of the UK Mars packaging became the St. George cross.

Advertising slogans

Former

*''"Maxis from Mars"'' – United Kingdom (1969) A number of white

Austin Maxi The Austin Maxi is a medium-sized, 5-door hatchback family car that was produced by Austin and later British Leyland between 1969 and 1981. It was the first British five-door hatchback. British Leyland built and sold the Maxi alongside the 1971 ...

s were driven around the country with numbers on the doors and if the number inside your Mars wrapper matched the Maxi you would see driving around your area, you won that very car. *"Mars bringt verbrauchte Energie sofort zurück."'' (Mars replenishes lost energy instantaneously) - Germany (1960s) *''"Mars macht mobil bei Arbeit, Sport und Spiel"'' (Mars mobilises you at work, sports and play) – Germany (1980s and 1990s) *''"A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play"'' – Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom *''"Out of this world!"'' – Australia, UK *''"Earth – what you'd eat if you lived on Mars"'' – New Zealand *''"Another way to make your day"'' – UK (2005) *''"Feels good to be back! "'' – Australia (2005) *''"An almond in every bite!"'' – US *''"Un Mars, et ça repart"'' (A Mars, and you're off again) – France (late 1990s and renewed from 2006) *''"Mars, que du bonheur"'' (Mars, only happiness) – France *''"Mars, haal eruit wat erin zit!"'' (Mars, get the most out of it!) – Netherlands, Belgium *''"Who knows? In 1,000 years we could all be sitting on Mars eating Earth bars."'' – United Kingdom (a full-page advertisement placed in the official Guide Book for the

Millennium Dome The Millennium Dome was the original name of the large dome-shaped building on the Greenwich Peninsula in South East (London sub region), South East London, England, which housed a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millenn ...

in 2000)

Current

*''"Mars your day"'' – Australia *''"A Mars a day helps you work, rest and play"'' – UK, Australia *''"Recharge on Mars"'' – Canada *''"Mars, pleasure you just can't measure"'' – Europe *''"Un coup de barre? Mars et ça repart!"'' (Feeling beat? A Mars and you're off again!) – France *''"Nimm Mars, gib Gas"'' (Take Mars, step on the gas) – Germany *''"Mars, momento di vero godimento"'' (Mars, a moment of pure enjoyment) – Italy *''"Mars, geeft je energie"'' (Gives you energy) – The Netherlands and Flanders, Belgium *''"Work-Rest-Play"'' – UK (later ''"Work-Rest-Play your part"'') *''"Turn Up the Heat!"'' – (UK promotional packs in 2010)

Deep-fried Mars bar

This is a Mars bar which has been coated with batter and deep-fried in oil or beef fat. First reports of battered Mars bars being sold in

Stonehaven Stonehaven ( , ) is a town in Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 11,602 at the 2011 Census. After the demise of the town of Kincardine, which was gradually abandoned after the destruction of its royal cast ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

date back to 1995. The product is "not authorised or endorsed" by Mars, Inc. Deep-fried Mars bars are available from some fish-and-chip shops in the UK (mainly in Scotland), Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland and the United States. A similar dish has reportedly appeared in

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

where momo (dumplings) have used Mars bars as fillings, though this variation is unknown to the larger population of momo eaters.

Recalls

In July 2005, Mars bars, along with the

Snickers Snickers is a chocolate bar made by the American company Mars, Incorporated, consisting of nougat topped with caramel and peanuts that is encased in milk chocolate. The annual global sales of Snickers was over $3 billion . In the United Ki ...

bar, were recalled due to an anonymous extortion attempt against

Star City Casino The Star Sydney (formerly Star City Casino and prior to that, Sydney Harbour Casino) in Pyrmont, Sydney, is the second largest casino in Australia after Melbourne's Crown Casino. Overlooking Darling Harbour, The Star, owned by Star Entertainme ...

in Sydney. The extortionist claimed to have poisoned seven Mars and Snickers bars at random stores in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. As a result,

Masterfoods Mars, Incorporated is an American multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products and a provider of animal care services, with US$40 billion in annual sales in 2021. Mars was ranked as the fourth-largest priva ...

Corporation, the company that manufactures Mars bars in Australia, recalled the entire Mars and Snickers product from store shelves in New South Wales. In the later half of August 2005, the threat to the public was deemed negligible and the bars returned to shelves. In February 2016, Mars, Snickers and various other Mars, Inc. chocolate products were recalled in 55 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The precautionary recall was issued after a customer found pieces of plastic in a Snickers bar purchased in Germany. The error was traced back to a Mars, Inc. factory in

Veghel Veghel () is a town and a former municipality in the southern Netherlands. On 1 January 2017 Veghel, together with Schijndel and Sint-Oedenrode, merged into a new municipality called Meierijstad creating the largest municipality of the provinc ...

, The Netherlands.

Animal products controversy

In May 2007, Mars UK announced that Mars bars, along with many of their other products such as

Maltesers Maltesers are a British confectionery product manufactured by Mars, Incorporated. First sold in the UK in 1937, they were originally aimed at women. They have since been sold in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United States and Middle E ...

Minstrels A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer who ...

and

Twix Twix is a caramel shortbread chocolate bar made by Mars, Inc., consisting of a biscuit applied with other confectionery toppings and coatings (most frequently caramel and milk chocolate).The biscuit is typically topped with caramel and then coa ...

would no longer be suitable for vegetarians because of the introduction of

rennet Rennet () is a complex set of enzymes produced in the stomachs of ruminant mammals. Chymosin, its key component, is a protease enzyme that curdles the casein in milk. In addition to chymosin, rennet contains other enzymes, such as pepsin and a ...

, a chemical sourced from calves' stomachs used in the production of

whey Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of hard ...

. The

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

nical authorities declared that the products remained

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...

for Jewish consumption. The decision was condemned by several groups, with the

Vegetarian Society The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom is a British registered charity which was established on 30 September 1847 to promote vegetarianism. History In the 19th century a number of groups in Britain actively promoted and followed meat ...

stating that "at a time when more and more consumers are concerned about the provenance of their food, Mars' decision to use non-vegetarian whey is a backward step". Mars later abandoned these plans, stating that it became "very clear, very quickly" that it had made a mistake.

Economics

It has been observed on several occasions that the price of a Mars bar correlates fairly accurately with the change in value of the

pound sterling Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and t ...

since

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, much in the way that the

Big Mac Index The Big Mac Index is a price index published since 1986 by ''The Economist'' as an informal way of measuring the purchasing power parity (PPP) between two currencies and providing a test of the extent to which market exchange rates result i ...

has proven to be a good indicator of the actual relative purchasing power of world currencies.

Popular culture

Northern Irish pop-punk band

The Undertones The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O'Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradley ...

wrote and recorded a song called "

Mars Bars Mars, commonly known as Mars bar, is the name of two varieties of chocolate bar produced by Mars, Incorporated. It was first manufactured in 1932 in Slough, England by Forrest Mars, Sr. The bar consists of caramel and nougat coated with milk c ...

", released as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

in 1979. 1960s Liverpool band

Gerry and the Pacemakers Gerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin. Their early successes alongsid ...

were originally known as

Gerry Marsden Gerard Marsden MBE (24 September 1942 – 3 January 2021) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and television personality, best known for being leader of the Merseybeat band Gerry and the Pacemakers. He was the younger brother of fellow ba ...

and the Mars Bars before changing their name due to the objection of Mars, Incorporated. The 1990

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

winning novel ''

Maniac Magee ''Maniac Magee'' is a novel written by American author Jerry Spinelli and published in 1990. Exploring themes of racism and inequality, it follows the story of an orphan boy looking for a home in the fictional town of Two Mills. Two Mills is ha ...

'' features a character named "Mars Bar" Thompson, his nickname given for his recognition of eating Mars Bars (his real first name is never revealed).

References

External links

The Visible Mars bar project
which shows the difference between US and UK Mars bars.

* ttp://www.sopse.org.uk/ixbin/hixclient.exe?a=query&p=slough&f=generic_theme.htm&%3dtheme_record_id=sl-sl-mars Slough History Onlinebr>Television commercial for original US Mars bar showing ingredients
{{Mars brands Products introduced in 1932 British confectionery Chocolate bars Kosher food Mars confectionery brands Slough Brand name confectionery