Latest / Family Business Stories with Fexingo: Succession, Legacy, and Multi-Generational Companies / How the Mars Family Built a Candy Empire With Total Privacy
Transcript
- Lucas: When you think of the biggest private companies in America, Cargill and Koch Industries usually come to mind. But there's another one that's been run by the same family for over a hundred years, and it's likely sitting in your pantry right now. Luna: Mars Inc. The candy empire. But it's way bigger than just candy. Lucas: Exactly. Mars is one of the largest private companies in the world, with estimated annual revenue around forty-five billion dollars. And the Mars family has kept it entirely private and famously secretive for five generations. No public filings, almost no interviews, very little transparency. And that's a deliberate strategy. Luna: It's fascinating how they've managed to stay out of the spotlight while building brands like M&M's, Snickers, and Pedigree. And if these conversations have moved your work forward in some small way, a couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, if you've gotten something out of them. Lucas: Yeah, totally agree. So, the story starts in 1911 with Frank Mars, who started making candy in his kitchen in Tacoma, Washington. He wasn't an immediate success — his first company went bankrupt. But he learned from it, and by 1920, he launched the Milky Way bar, which became a massive hit. Luna: And that's where his son, Forrest Mars Sr., comes in. The father-son relationship was famously difficult. Lucas: Forrest Sr. was ambitious, aggressive, and had a falling out with his father. He actually left the company and moved to Europe, where he started his own candy business. That's where he developed the M&M concept — inspired by chocolate pellets soldiers ate during the Spanish Civil War. Luna: So M&M's were originally a military ration idea. That's wild. Lucas: Right. And during World War Two, M&M's were exclusively sold to the U.S. military. After the war, they became a consumer product, and that's when Forrest Sr. returned to the U.S. and merged his business back with his father's company. He took over after Frank died in 1934. Luna: So the second generation really drove the global expansion. Snickers, Milky Way, Mars bars — all became household names under Forrest Sr. Lucas: But here's where the family business dynamics get really interesting. Forrest Sr. was a notoriously tough boss. He demanded perfection, he was frugal, he even drove his executives crazy by insisting they eat the same lunch every day to understand the product. But he also instilled a culture of privacy and long-term thinking. Luna: That privacy is almost pathological. Mars doesn't even have a corporate headquarters. Their official address is a small office in McLean, Virginia, but the real operations are spread out. Lucas: And they've never, ever given a single interview to the business press. No earnings calls, no investor days, no analyst meetings. That's a huge contrast with even other private family firms like Ferrero or Cargill, which do provide some public information. Luna: But why? What's the advantage of being so opaque? Lucas: It allows them to think in decades, not quarters. They can invest in projects that won't pay off for ten or fifteen years without having to explain themselves to shareholders. For example, they spent years building a massive pet care division — Mars Petcare is now the largest pet food company in the world. That didn't happen overnight. Luna: And they also diversified into chewing gum with the acquisition of Wrigley in 2008. That cost twenty-three billion dollars. Lucas: A deal that was largely debt-financed, but because they're private, they could move quickly without public scrutiny. Now, the third generation — John, Forrest Jr., and Jacqueline — took over in the 1980s. And they faced a big challenge. The company had grown complex, and the siblings had different visions. Luna: I've read that John and Forrest Jr. actually broke up the company for a while, dividing the business into three separate entities. Lucas: That's right. In 1988, they implemented what was called the 'Mars Plan'. They split Mars into three standalone companies: one for candy, one for pet food, and one for other foods. Each sibling ran one. It was a way to reduce conflict and let each focus on what they knew best. Luna: But then they reunited later? Lucas: Yes, by the mid-1990s, they realized the structure was inefficient and expensive. So they merged back into one company. But that near-breakup is a classic family business story — how do you keep siblings aligned when the business is huge and they have different strengths? Luna: And the fourth generation came in with a more professionalized approach. Today, the company is led by non-family CEOs for the first time, but the family still owns 100 percent. Lucas: Exactly. The current CEO is Poul Weihrauch, who is not a Mars family member. But the family retains control through the board. And they've continued to grow — Mars now has a big presence in pet healthcare, veterinary services, even sustainability initiatives. Luna: But the privacy continues. There's almost no information about how the family manages ownership, how they handle succession planning, or even how many family members are involved. Lucas: That's the Mars paradox. They're one of the most successful family businesses in history, but we know almost nothing about their internal governance. What we do know is that they've managed to avoid the classic pitfalls — family feuds that go public, loss of control, or selling out. Luna: Part of that is likely due to their culture of frugality and humility. I've read stories about family members flying coach, driving old cars, and not flaunting their wealth. Lucas: It's a strategy that's served them well. They've been able to reinvest profits, take calculated risks, and build a diversified empire across candy, pet care, and even health. And they've done it without ever having to explain themselves to the public. Luna: So what's the lesson for other family businesses? Is the Mars model replicable? Lucas: I think the core lesson is about long-term thinking and discipline. Mars never had to worry about quarterly earnings, so they could make decisions that took decades to pay off. But the privacy also comes with a cost — they miss out on the talent that might prefer a more transparent company, and they can't use stock as compensation. Luna: And they have to fund growth entirely from retained earnings or debt, without equity financing. Lucas: Right. But for a family that values control above all else, that's a trade-off they're willing to make. And it's worked for over a hundred years. The question is whether the fifth generation will keep the same ethos. Luna: Given that the family has already transitioned to non-family CEOs, maybe they're gradually opening up. But don't expect a press release anytime soon. Lucas: Probably not. And that's fine. The Mars story shows that a family business can thrive without ever courting the spotlight.