British invasion: Mars maltesers muscle in on Hershey malted milk balls

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "British invasion: Mars maltesers muscle in on Hershey malted milk balls"

Arleen Banks
6 years ago
Views:

British invasion: Mars maltesers muscle in on Hershey malted milk balls By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff on 04.07.

1 British invasion: Mars maltesers muscle in on Hershey malted milk balls By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff on Word Count 575 Both Mars and Hershey make bite-size chocolate malt balls. Photo from Wikimedia Commons. Another British invasion is landing in the United States, and it's smaller and sweeter than the Beatles' 1960s arrival. Mars Inc., based in McLean, Virginia, is bringing its bite-size malt ball Maltesers to America and back to the company's roots. The treat has been satisfying British urges for sweets since Forrest Mars Sr. started making it in the 1930s. Born in the United States, he invented Maltesers and other candies abroad after squabbling with his father and setting out on his own. The younger Mars later returned to the United States. Now Mars is hoping the invasion will grab U.S. market share in the highly competitive candy space from rival company, Hershey. Hershey makes Whoppers, the American version of a bite-size malted milk ball. Hershey and Mars dominate the U.S. chocolate market, which is worth $21 billion annually. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 1

2 Hershey And Mars Go Back And Forth "Hershey has always been the dominant player" in chocolate in America, said Brittany Weissman, a consumer analyst with Edward Jones. "They and Mars go back and forth." When mints, gum and candy other than chocolate are thrown in, the two companies are neck and neck. Together, these candies make up what is known as the confectionery market, which is worth $35 billion annually. Hershey commands 31 percent of the confectionery market with Mars, owner of Wrigley gum, close behind at 29.1, Weissman said. Smaller Snacks Outpacing Bigger Ones Mars is trying to catch up by aiming at Americans' growing affinity for bite-size snacks. The smaller snack sales are outpacing bigger things like chocolate bars or ice cream sundaes by 10-to-1. Mars is known for its signature M&Ms, Milky Way and Snickers brands. "Both Hershey and Mars are trying to get in on the snack trend," Weissman said. The snacks category is broad and covers anything people eat between meals. It can include crackers, peanuts, chocolate, other candy or even yogurt. "People used to eat three square meals a day in the United States," Weissman said. "Now they are eating a smaller breakfast, then a mid-morning snack, a smaller lunch and a midafternoon snack." Defying Health And Wellness Odds But confections have defied the health and wellness odds, she said. People tend to feel better about eating a few pieces of something, like a handful of M&Ms, as opposed to an entire candy bar, Weissman explained. Mars has tried various modifications to some of its favorites over the years. But Financial Times reports that Maltesers, which have been sold for decades in Britain, will be the first new product by Mars in the United States since it launched Twix 20 years ago. Legal Dispute Over Malted Milk Snacks For years, Mars and Hershey were tangled in a legal dispute about their rival malted milk snacks. They reached an out-of-court settlement in 2015, which cleared the way for Mars to move its Maltesers into the U.S. market. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 2

3 Tracey Massey, who runs Mars' U.S. chocolate operations, told reporters in a recent interview that it's especially hard to crack the chocolate market with an entirely new product. People tend to stick with the sweets they learned to love as a kid, she said. Consumers "have to try the product about 10 times before it gets into their repertoire," Massey said. "So you have to be in it for the long haul." Devotees of each, though, would say they are quite different and dispute which is made with better chocolate or a stronger malt flavor. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 3

4 Quiz 1 Which two of the following sentences from the article include CENTRAL ideas of it? 1. Mars Inc., based in McLean, Virginia, is bringing its bite-size malt ball Maltesers to America and back to the company's roots. 2. Now Mars is hoping the invasion will grab U.S. market share in the highly competitive candy space from rival company, Hershey. 3. People tend to feel better about eating a few pieces of something, like a handful of M&Ms, as opposed to an entire candy bar, Weissman explained. 4. Mars has tried various modifications to some of its favorites over the years. 1 and 2 1 and 3 2 and 3 3 and 4 2 Which of these sentences would be MOST important to include in an objective summary of the article? Although Hershey has higher sales than Mars, Mars has tastier chocolate products. Mars and Hershey are both successful candy companies with popular chocolate products. Mars Inc.'s Maltesers will probably be a failure in America since people tend to only enjoy candies they ate as children. Mars and Hershey recently settled a frivolous legal dispute over their rival products. This article is available at 5 reading levels at 4

5 3 Read the section "Hershey And Mars Go Back And Forth." Why does the author include information about Hershey's dominance in the confectionery market? to provide reasons why Mars has been largely successful with malt candies in the European market to give evidence showing why the new Maltesers candies will probably be very successful to prove that Hershey is the most successful chocolate maker in the United States to show that both companies play a significant role in selling chocolate in the United States 4 Read the first sentence from the section "Legal Dispute Over Malted Milk Snacks." For years, Mars and Hershey were tangled in a legal dispute about their rival malted milk snacks. They reached an out-of-court settlement in 2015, which cleared the way for Mars to move its Maltesers into the U.S. market. How does this paragraph develop the idea that Mars and Hershey are serious competitors in the candy industry? by comparing the amount of sales of both companies in the United States by showing that the two companies have battled in court over the right to sell malt balls in the United States by explaining why the two companies both have popular malt ball products by detailing the differences between the malt ball recipes of each company This article is available at 5 reading levels at 5

George Washington, not Ben & Jerry's, made ice cream popular in America

George Washington, not Ben & Jerry's, made ice cream popular in America By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff on 06.28.17 Word Count 917 Level 1050L Two girls enjoy an ice cream treat on a hot summer