When Nestlé moved its US headquarters to Virginia last year, it became the second major sweet-treat company to operate out of our area, as Mars has been based here since the ’80s. How do the businesses compare?
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Nestlé |
Mars |
|
| US headquarters | Rosslyn | McLean |
| Quick history | Founded in the 19th century as a condensed-milk outfit, it now has 48,000 employees in the US alone. | Ever since Frank Mars started making candy out of his Tacoma, Washington, kitchen in 1911, the company has been owned by the same family. |
| 2018 global sales | More than $90 billion. | $35 billion. |
| Key treats | Häagen-Dazs ice cream, Nesquik chocolate milk, Nestlé Toll House cookies. | M&M’s, Skittles, Snickers, Twix, 3 Musketeers, Milky Way. |
| What else they make | Gerber baby food, Perrier water, Lean Cuisine frozen dinners, Purina dog food, and lots of other stuff in your local supermarket. | Pedigree dog food, Combos, Wrigley gum, Uncle Ben’s rice. |
| They own that? | Nestlé has an entire skin-care division, including Proactiv acne products. | In addition to pet food, Mars operates veterinary-hospital chains such as Banfield and BluePearl. |
| Unusual item we’d like to try | Thomy mayonnaise with hemp oil, sold in Switzerland; recommended “for next-level enjoyment moments,” according to our web browser’s translator. | Balisto bars, which are sold across Europe—a whole-grain candy with a name possibly derived from the German word for roughage. |
| Odd controversy | Nestlé’s Poland Spring water is currently facing a class-action lawsuit claiming that its H2O is fraudulent because it doesn’t come from a spring. | In 2007, Mars UK decided to start using an enzyme from calf stomachs in its candy. Vegetarians were furious, and the decision was quickly reversed. |
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This article appears in the October 2019 issue of Washingtonian.
Assistant Editor
Jane is a Chicago transplant who now calls Cleveland Park her home. Before joining Washingtonian, she wrote for Smithsonian Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times. She is a graduate of Northwestern University, where she studied journalism and opera.
