Candy giant Mars Snacking is investing $100 million to expand its Chicago headquarters, adding two new offices and more than 600 jobs, the company announced Wednesday.
The Chicago Tribune reported that, with incentives created by Illinois tax credits, Mars Snacking is opening a new regional office in Fulton Market and taking over the former Kellanova headquarters in River North as a new hub for its Accelerator Division, growing its corporate footprint beyond its Goose Island campus.
“Chicago has long been a hub for our business, and now it is our official home for our North America region and our Accelerator Division — firmly establishing our legacy and our future together,” Andrew Clarke, global president of Mars Snacking, said in a news release, according to the Tribune.
The Tribune said the expansion follows a merger last year, which increased Mars Snacking’s employee count and portfolio. In December, Mars closed on its $36 billion acquisition of Kellanova, the Chicago-based snack foods spinoff from cereal-maker Kellogg, adding brands such as Pringles and Cheez-It to a snacking universe that includes Snickers, M&M’s and Twix.
Virginia-based Mars established a base in Chicago with its 2008 purchase of Wrigley, the city’s century-old gum-maker, for $23 billion. In addition to such brands as Juicy Fruit, Mars acquired Wrigley’s research and development center on Goose Island, which opened in 2005.
In 2024, Mars opened a new 44,000-square-foot, $42 million research and development facility on its Goose Island campus. Mars Snacking got a lot bigger through the Kellanova merger last year, supporting 4,000 jobs and more than 20 brands in the Chicago area.
“Mars Snacking’s decision to expand its footprint in Chicago reflects the strength of our state’s workforce, infrastructure and business environment,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in the news release, according to the Tribune. “We’re proud that a company with such an iconic portfolio is building on its history here, creating opportunity for Illinois families and strengthening our economy.”
