Business & Tech
New Mars Wrigley Confectionery Will Make Its Sweet Home Chicago
Mars Inc. will merge its Wrigley and chocolate subsidiaries in 2017, and the combined operation's global hub will be in the city.
CHICAGO, IL — Could candy conglomerate Mars Inc. be taking to heart the ad slogan of one of its competitors with its move Thursday to combine the chocolate segment of its business with its Wrigley brand? The company's "candy crush" certainly looks like an attempt to see if its "two great businesses" will taste work great together as Mars Wrigley Confectionery, a new unit of Mars that will call Chicago home.
“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,” Martin Radvan, a longtime Mars executive and Wrigely's current global president, said in a statement announcing the merger.
Ravdan will head Mars' new segment, which will employ 30,000 people in about 70 countries. Mars did not say how many of those employees will be based in Chicago, which will be the location of the segment's global hub.
Find out what's happening in Chicagofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The combined operation will be responsible for candy products, such as Snickers, M&M's, Doublemint gum, Altoids, Lifesavers, Skittles and Starburst. Although the creation of Mars Wrigley Confectionery was announced Thursday, Oct. 6, the combination won't be phased in until 2017, according to a Mars press release.
"With today’s announcement by Mars, Chicago is now home to the world’s largest confectionery company," Mayor Rahm Emanuel said in a statement. "Mars Wrigley Confectionery could not have chosen a better city to establish their global hub. Thanks to recent headquarters relocations by companies like McDonalds, Kraft Heinz, ConAgra and Oscar Mayer, Chicago is staying at the forefront of the global economy, the center of the food industry, and the leading edge of the culinary world."
Find out what's happening in Chicagofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The company did not say if Mars Wrigley Confectionery will operate out of Wrigley's Goose Island headquarters or set up shop in another spot around Chicago. Mars Chocolate's base of operations currently is in Hackettstown, NJ, and Mars Inc. HQ is in McLean, VA.
photo via Pixabay
Like What You're Reading? Stay Patched In!
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
