scripod.com
Mars Inc. (the chocolate story)

Overview

Shownote

Highlights

Transcript

Chapters

Pins

Mars Inc. (the chocolate story)

Acquired

2024/12/16
Acquired

Acquired

2024/12/16
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

M&M’s, Snickers, Milky Way, Double Mint, Ben’s Rice, Pedigree, Whiskas, VCA, Banfield… all the brands you know, owned by the company you know nothing about: Mars, Incorporated. And Mars itself is 100% owned and deeply intertwined with the Mars family, who ...

Highlights

Discover the remarkable story of Mars, Inc., a privately held conglomerate that owns beloved brands like M&Ms, Snickers, and Milky Way. This podcast delves into the entrepreneurial journey of the Mars family, their innovative approaches to candy-making, and their expansion into pet care, making them one of the wealthiest yet secretive families in the United States.
05:40
Frank Mars contracted polio as a child, influencing his love for candy-making.
28:30
Milton Hershey's slightly sour chocolate became iconic due to being first to market.
46:35
Frank releases the Milky Way bar in 1924, boosting sales significantly.
1:09:19
Forrest leaves America with $50,000 and foreign rights to Milky Way, vowing never to return.
1:18:29
Forrest Mars names his product the Mars Bar, distinguishing it from the Milky Way with variations in sweetness, malt level, and chocolate type.
1:35:54
Mars Inc. uses ROTA as a key metric, aiming for an 18% return on assets.
1:54:01
Forrest secured a deal with Hershey to create M&Ms, leveraging their exclusive military chocolate supply.
2:27:50
Forrest sets a six-month deadline to make Mars profitable without Hershey's chocolate.
2:37:09
Hershey kept the price of its chocolate bar at a nickel from 1900 to 1969, shrinking the bar size to manage inflation.
2:46:33
Forrest Mars Sr. started Ethel M. Chocolates at age 76, specializing in liquor-filled chocolates.
2:52:38
Mars bought Wrigley for $23 billion in 2008 with help from Warren Buffett.
3:19:09
The E.T. movie deal tripled Reese's Pieces sales.

Chapters

How Did the Mars Saga Begin?
00:00
Who Invented Chocolate Bars?
08:32
What Made Milky Way So Revolutionary?
40:22
Why Did Forrest Leave Home?
49:25
How Did Mars Expand Abroad?
1:15:42
What Are Mars' Business Secrets?
1:24:27
How Were M&Ms Born?
1:44:55
How Did Forrest Take Full Control?
2:18:53
Who Won the Candy Wars?
2:31:03
How Did Mars Dominate Globally?
2:43:18
What Strategic Acquisitions Did Mars Make?
2:52:38
How Does Mars Maintain Its Brand Power?
3:13:28

Transcript

Ben Gilbert: Okay, David, how many current varieties of M&Ms can you name? David Rosenthal: Oh, wow. Okay, well. Plain, peanut, peanut butter. Ben Gilbert: Actually, plain is technically now called milk chocolate. David Rosenthal: Oh, interesting. There...