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Before founding his candy empire, Frank Mars studied candy production methods and experimented with early nougat recipes in the 1910s.
The origins of Snickers can be traced back to the early days.
Mars created the Milky Way bar in Minneapolis in 1923. It was his first successful product—where first-year sales reached $800,000—equivalent to $14 million today!
After relocating to Chicago in 1929, he invented his next groundbreaking product: Snickers.
Frank Mars named Snickers after a racehorse he owned. Snickers the horse died several months before the candy’s 1930 launch. It was a tribute to his memory.
In the beginning, producing Snickers was a very manual process: workers poured peanut butter nougat onto trays, layered caramel, and peanuts, cut each bar by hand, and dipped them individually in melted chocolate.
At its launch, Snickers cost 20 cents—four times the standard 5-cent price of other candy bars on the market.
Mars, Inc. eventually launched Snickers in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 1968 under the name “Marathon.” The company kept this name for over two decades, avoiding “Snickers” due to its resemblance to the word “knickers.”
The branded name lasted 22 years in the UK, up to 1990.
Mars, Inc. introduced “fun size” Snickers in 1968, creating a new category of tiny candy bars.
The company was following the lead of earlier miniature candy experiments like the mini Butterfingers, launched by the Curtiss Candy Company years earlier.
However, Mars secured the trademark for “fun size,” making the concept ubiquitous to the company’s candy line up.
In 1980, Snickers developed a new ad campaign: “It’s so satisfying.”
The commercials featured real people speaking directly about their connection to the candy bar, while a carefully crafted visual sequence showed peanuts morphing into the finished Snickers product.
A jingle was paired with each advertisement, with the tagline: “Packed with peanuts, Snickers really satisfies.”
In the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Snickers became its official sponsor.
This Olympics introduced a competitive bidding system where companies fought for exclusive category sponsorship where a single brand could claim sole representation for their product.
Mars Inc. acquired Dove International in 1986 and spent three years developing the Snickers ice cream bar.
The product launched in 1989 in two test markets: Chicago and Seattle-Tacoma.
They launched with a promotion where you could buy a six-pack of 2-ounce bars for $2.89. The ice cream bar was piggybacking on the past success of Snickers where it currently reached 90 million American consumers monthly.
In 1995, Snickers launched an advertising campaign that captured a universal moment of frustration: being stuck somewhere due to your own mistake.
The commercials showed people dealing with self-created delays. They displayed goofy moments like a football stadium groundskeeper who painted “Chefs” instead of “Chiefs” on the field.
Each ad closed with the suggestion: “Not going anywhere for a while? Grab a Snickers.” The campaign’s partnership with the NFL was key to its appeal. There were several memorable spots that linked waiting, hunger, and Snickers' promise of satisfaction.
In 2007, Snickers launched its “Snickers Feast” campaign, with commercials featuring a Viking warrior and England’s Henry VIII gathering for elaborate banquets.
Despite its creativity, the campaign ended quickly.
In 2013, Snickers achieved a significant milestone: annual sales in the United States exceeded $1 billion!
Snickers again teamed up with the NFL in 2010 with a Super Bowl ad starring Betty White.
It was called the “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” campaign that spoke to a fundamental human truth: hunger changes how people act and feel.
The ad resonated with the audience—sales grew 15.9% in the first two years, and the campaign’s reach expanded from 34 to 58 countries.
Mars Inc. launched Snickers Crisp in 2019 by adding puffed rice to the classic chocolate bar’s blend of caramel and peanuts.
Mars Inc. unveiled the Snickers Peanut Brownie in July 2020, turning the candy bar into a brownie full of similar ingredients.
The new design featured two chocolate-coated squares, each combining a layer of caramel with a peanut-brownie core.
It was expanded nationwide in January 2021.
Snickers earns $380 million in yearly global sales, maintaining its position as the world’s highest-selling candy bar.
While Mars Inc. has introduced new variations, the core recipe has remained unchanged since its creation in the 1930s. A taste that has drawn consumers for over 90 years.
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