Bringing a human face to big business

At the beginning of this year, Master Foods South Africa (Pty) Ltd was the quiet operating company behind the popular global brands of Pedigree® dog food and Whiskas® cat food, the South African icon brand of Royco® and two of the largest global confectionery brands M&M's® and Snickers®. With the global name change to Mars earlier this year, it has presented the perfect opportunity for the African division, now known as Mars Africa, to bring a human face to the organisation behind its world-famous brands.

Ian Burton, MD comments, “Mars Incorporated recognises the need to bring this privately owned and family run organisation into the public domain. There is an understanding that consumers today are no longer satisfied to only know and trust the brand names, they want to have an understanding of the organisation behind the brands and the role they are playing in not only the business community, but also in society. This includes having a common name across the globe and providing information and insights via platforms such as the internet for public scrutiny.”

Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, USA, Mars Incorporated was established in 1911 and now operates in more than 65 countries and employs more than 40 000 associates worldwide. The company's global sales are approximately US$21 billion annually (2006) with more than US$100 million (about R700 million in 2006) contributed from Mars Africa.

Mars Incorporated has five core principles, which define the organisation's corporate philosophy and inspire the actions of every single Mars operation, whatever its nature, across the globe.

According to Burton, the company's five principles are quality, responsibility, mutuality, efficiency and freedom and he says they differentiate the company from its competitors. He also says that maintaining the family ownership of Mars Incorporated has always been a deliberate choice as it allows the company to remain financially free and able to act without having to answer to shareholders.

“We look forward to sharing more and more about the work we at Mars Africa are doing behind our brands for consumers, business and the environment,” he says.