Mars targets growth to $1 billion for its global ice cream business
Anton Vincent, centre, speaking at Sweets & Snacks, has been appointed head of Mars Ice cream business. Pic: Neill Barston
Mars has confirmed ambitious targets to extend its ice cream business, led by its Dovebar, to a value of $1 billion by 2030, amid notable wider category growth, reports Neill Barston.
The company recently offered a significant trading update during a QandA at Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago, in which it reported a buoyant performance across its complete food portfolio, including its core confectionery ranges.
The “At Mars, we see an opportunity to grow our ice cream business not only in North America, but around the globe,” said Anton Vincent (pictured centre of main image at Sweets & Snacks Expo), President at Mars Wrigley North America and newly appointed Head of Mars Ice Cream globally. “We’re innovating with a focus on product and purpose, and expanding our global manufacturing capabilities to ensure we can meet rapidly rising consumer demand.”
As the business noted, the global ice cream market is projected to hit $104.96 billion by 2029, up significantly from $73.62 billion in 20211, and Mars holds several of the top selling products in the U.S. frozen novelty category including Snickers Ice Cream Bars, M&M’S Ice Cream Sandwiches, TWIX Ice Cream, and KIND Frozen treats.
Today, Mars has twelve billion-dollar brands around the world across snacking, pet and food categories. Reaching $1 billion in sales would place Mars Ice Cream among the company’s twelve other billion-dollar brands, standouts that include M&M’S candy, EXTRA gum and SNICKERS bars.
“The widespread popularity of iconic Mars brands gives consumers the opportunity to enjoy their favourite candies as innovative Mars Ice Cream products,” said Shaf Lalani, General Manager for Mars Ice Cream. “Mars Wrigley North America will deliver both growth and positive societal impact with our vanilla for Dovebar and empower women throughout our supply chain.”
Moreover, as the company noted, the Dovebar is the first Mars Ice Cream product with a sustainability ambition. From farm, to factory, to freezer, the its smooth bars are made with positive societal impact in mind.
In terms of sustainable sourcing, the brand is also made with 100% real ice cream using vanilla that’s sourced from a large-scale vanilla project in Madagascar. In partnership with the Livelihoods Fund for Family Farming (L3F), the project is working to improve the lives of 2,700 vanilla farmers with a specific focus of empowering female vanilla farmers, improving the financial stability of all farmers and their communities, and preserving local biodiversity while cultivating a resilient vanilla supply chain.
Furthermore, Mars is committed to embedding sustainable solutions throughout its operations, such as its Dovebar made at Mars Wrigley’s Burr Ridge facility in Illinois. The Mars Wrigley Burr Ridge facility in Illinois sources 100% renewable electricity and sends zero waste to landfills.
A further notable aspect to its manufacturing is its core focus on packaging, with hundreds of millions of dollars invested into sustainable packaging with the aim to have 100% of all Mars packaging reusable, recyclable or compostable. Among other Mars Ice Cream product packaging updates, Mars recently reduced the film gage in its DOVE Ice Cream Bars which eliminates 27 tons of plastic annually, across four different product offerings.