These two main axes have established the essence of the company's operation until today.
Mars Company was founded by Frank Mars in 1923. Before that, it experienced many failures.
At that time, it was named "Mar-O-Bar" company.
At first, it produced a candy with the same name, which was made of caramel, nuts and chocolate, and the other was made of butter and cream, called "Victoria butter cream".
1924, Frank Mars happened to meet his son Forrest, and he hasn't seen this son since he divorced his first wife Ethel.
Forest Mars himself once said that he proposed to his father the idea of turning chocolate malt beverages into portable products, which later became "Galaxy Bar".
This new chocolate product was very popular when it was first put on the market. At that time, candy was not easy to keep. This product was covered with chocolate, which kept the candy bars fresh. Moreover, the manufacturing cost of lollipops is relatively low, but they don't lose chocolate when eaten.
The launch of this product provided a considerable sum of money for the company to start sprinting.
At 1927, the company name was changed to Mars, and the factory moved to the west of Chicago, because the freight there was only half that of Minneapolis.
This factory is built in a place that used to be a golf course. Frank Mars turned the factory into a place worth visiting. It looks very harmonious with the high-end residential areas nearby, and it is not a factory at all from the appearance.
The factory used automation equipment, which was a very advanced technology at that time.
1930, frank mars developed snickers. 1932, he introduced three musketeers. This new product makes Mars the second largest candy manufacturer in the United States, after Hershey.
Perhaps because of previous failures, Frank Mars was quite satisfied with the company's achievements, but his son forest was bent on expanding and often urged his father to expand his business.
However, forest's interventionist attitude and his constant urging his father to develop his business in Canada made his father Frank quite unhappy and eventually expelled him from the company.
Frank Mars himself died one year and three months later, and the company was taken over by his second wife (also called Ethel) and daughter.
With $50,000 and the overseas sales right of Galaxy given by his father, forest embarked on an expedition to Europe.
With a keen interest in chocolate, he learned from many European masters. For example, he works in factories in Jean Sobler and Henri Nestlé.
1933 went to England to launch the galaxy stick.
At that time, the market has been Cadbury Brothers Limited and rowntree &; Co.' s monopoly, in view of this, he reduced the original plan to build a large factory and started from a small factory.
He put all his possessions and efforts into the company, so that his father-in-law had to take his wife and children back to the United States to support the elderly.
Forrest improved the taste of "Galaxy" in order to cater to the British taste, and even went public under the name of Mars Bar, which was very narcissistic.
The sales of Mars bars are going up all the time. Even though forest Mars later tried unsuccessfully to launch a new candy bar, the company was still very successful in Britain.
Because Mars Bar became so popular, forest Mars turned his attention to other things.
1934, he bought Chappel Bros, a British dog food factory that produced canned minced meat.
At that time, food specially for cats and dogs was not fashionable. They usually only eat human leftovers.
Forest Mars saw business opportunities in it. He sells canned chapi, the main concept is that it is nutritious.
Without competitors, he soon became a market leader.
By 1939, Mars Limited has become the third largest candy manufacturer in Britain.
Forrester also set up a factory in Brussels, which is responsible for the sales of Mars bars throughout Europe.
However, due to the outbreak of World War II, Britain began to tax foreigners, so he was forced to give up everything.
However, he had an idea at that time, which later evolved into m & amp； Chocolate lady, at the same time, when he returned to America, he began a cooperative relationship with Hershey.
Forest Mars persuaded William Murray, Milton Hershey's right-hand man, to develop an insoluble chocolate.
He himself had seen this kind of chocolate during the Spanish Civil War and was deeply impressed.
In this investment, Mars contributed 80%, Murray contributed the remaining 20%, plus chocolate making technology.
Murray's son Bruce was sent to Mars to carry out this investment plan.
194 1 The product launched is M&; Ms, the name stands for Mars and Murrie.
However, this cooperation soon changed, because Bruce Murray found that Forrest Gump Mars was a difficult person to get along with, so he soon sold all his shares to Forrest Gump.
Today, in the M&A market. On the website of Ms, Hershey's assistance in developing M & amp； Ma 'am, about the chocolate.
This chocolate product is aimed at American soldiers first, because they are resistant to high temperature and are not easy to melt.
Although this idea is good, the initial sales situation is not very good.
Still making money, but much worse than Snickers.
Therefore, on 1950, forest M&A hired an advertising company to discuss M&A; Ms's sales research is quite careful.
Using market research as a marketing tool, forest is the initiator.
He was the first person in the candy industry to do this, and it proved quite successful afterwards.
The study found that M & amp； Ms is very attractive to children, but children have little money.
Therefore, the company turned to adults.
The advertising company M & ampup has a famous saying: M&; Women's advertising words: "only soluble in the mouth, not in the hands."
"("put it in your mouth, not in your hands ") This is very attractive to parents, because in this way, children will not get dirty everywhere.
This product was inserted in TV commercials in high-rated programs, such as Mickey Mouse Club, and quickly became the most popular candy of 1956.
When m&; After the great success of Ms sales, Forrest Mars started another new career, because he saw a new processing method in the processed rice market, which seems to have great market potential.
The owner of a rice mill invented a "semi-cooked" processing technology, which can make the grain more nutritious.
Forest believes that this processed rice can be sold under a specific brand, and the price can be set higher. The idea was quite avant-garde at that time.
However, in any case, he started this project and began to study the manufacturing technology of processed rice.
Finally, he named this kind of rice "Uncle Ben's Rice", which was named after the owner of the rice factory.
1999, this rice product brought about $400 million in revenue to Mars enterprises.
Although Forrest Gump Mars' performance so far is extremely proud, it is the biggest challenge he faces to get his father's company.
He thought his father's company should belong to him legally, because he invented the Galaxy Stick, and he also suggested that his father set up a Chicago factory.
Under the control of Frank Mars' second wife Ethel and his daughter Patricia, Mars is not innovative enough.
After the death of Ethel Mars, half of the shares were transferred to Forrest, and because of this legacy, he fought with William Kruppenbacher, the illegitimate child, that is, Ethel Mars' half-brother, for the control of the company.
Forest Mars vowed to modernize the factory technology and introduced the technology of making candy by machine in 1953.
By 1959, due to the introduction of forest Mars, Mars became the first sugar-coated bar manufacturer in the world.
However, forest still wants full control of the company.
1959, after Kubenbach retired, Patricia Mars' husband James Fleming was appointed as President and CEO.
Under his management, the quality of products declined sharply, because he stole two pounds from expensive materials, such as peanuts and chocolate, so the company's profits became worse and worse.
Forest Mars finally persuaded Patricia to transfer his shares to him, so as to get 80% of the shares. In exchange, he proposed to put his company under Mars.
Later, he persuaded other shareholders to sell their shares to him, and finally he was able to completely control Mars.
196465438+In February, forest Mars finally became the chairman, president and CEO of Mars.
After taking full control of the company, forest Mars made a drastic reform of the company's structure according to the company's management style.
He got rid of all the unimportant things in the company: managing restaurants, French chefs, oak veneers, art collections, carpets, dirty glass and special helicopters.
He gave his employees a 30% salary increase, replaced the annual allowance with a bonus, and gave each employee an attendance card.
Such drastic changes have also angered some employees.
But quality control has improved, and James Fleming's cost-cutting measures have also been abolished.
Forrest Gump's next step is to achieve self-sufficiency by producing his own chocolate.
He believes that every link in the production process must be controlled. Until today, Mars has not outsourced any link in the production process.
After taking full control of the company, forest Mars carried out many drastic reforms, but his ruling time was only nine years.
1973, at the age of 69, he retired and handed over the management rights to his sons forest Jr. and John, and his daughter Jacqueline.
Through their efforts, Mars has become a truly global enterprise.
Although it has been handed in, forest Mars continues to criticize and guide the children's performance and closely monitor the company's operation.
Therefore, the Mars brothers monitored the company more closely than when forest Mars was in office.