Mars Food & Nutrition expands portfolio, disrupts the food aisle

Ben’s Original™ ranges of ready meals launch from the US to the UK offering new healthy, convenient innovations

LONDON, July 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Mars Food & Nutrition, a Mars, Incorporated business segment with some of the world’s leading food brands, has announced its expansion in the ready meals space, starting with the launch of Ben’s Original™ Street Food in the U.S. and Canada and Ben’s Original™ Lunch Bowls and Favourites in the U.K.

Investment in the new ranges is an exciting next chapter for Mars Food & Nutrition as it seeks to respond to changing consumer needs, helping more people easily access healthy and tasty food.

Consumers juggling busy lives are prioritizing convenience; according to new research 48% in the U.S. are spending fewer than 15 minutes daily on meal preparation¹. Yet, they don’t want to sacrifice flavor or nutrition – two-thirds of consumers globally are curious about new world flavors, while 50% across all age groups say healthy eating is a top priority for them^{2 3}. Mars Food & Nutrition is responding to these trends by offering consumers meals that are healthy, tasty and convenient, and that fuse flavors from around the world.

The newly launched ready meals tick all these boxes.

To create the new products and make them delicious, the Mars Food & Nutrition team engaged consumers in the development, tapped into chefs’ creativity and leveraged AI powered insights. The next step in the process was to ensure the meals were nutritious and could be eaten regularly as a healthier choice. Finally, they addressed consumer pain points relating to time spent cooking and the desire to have meals ready almost immediately.

Ben’s Original™ Street Food is a range of entrées being launched across the U.S. and Canada in four delicious, bold flavors, such as the bean and rice burrito bowl. The new product offers entree options packed with fiber and protein, making them the perfect satisfying dish for busy schedules. In the U.K., Ben’s Original™ Favourites and Lunch Bowls, are launching in Tesco, with wider rollout later in the year. Containing no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives, Ben’s Original™ Lunch Bowls include a range of tasty grain and vegetable bowls with different grains and products that are a source of fiber and high in protein. The Favourites range includes ready to eat, rice-based dishes with delicious vegetables and popular flavors from around the world. The new products meet Mars Food & Nutrition’s nutrition criteria based on strict and widely agreed recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other leading public health authorities, and contribute to our five-year Health & Wellbeing commitments⁴.

Shaid Shah, Global President at Mars Food & Nutrition, said: “We know Gen Z and Millennial shoppers are prioritizing three things when it comes to mealtimes: convenience, nutrition, and tasty, globally-inspired flavors. That’s why our mission is to enable healthier and more flavorful eating to become part of consumers’ daily lives.

Using our expertise in culinary innovation, our leading manufacturing technologies and strong retail partnerships, we’re excited to make this investment in our North American and U.K. markets. The successful launch, which is a result of the hard work and passion of our teams, builds on our recent award-winning innovations and acquisitions looking to redefine the future of food.”

Innovations that Mars Food & Nutrition has recently brought to consumers’ plates include Dolmio® Intensify pasta sauces, Ben’s Original™ Plant Powered, Ben’s Original™ 10 Medley, and Ben’s Original™ One Pan Creations.

In addition to innovating and extending its core range, Mars Food & Nutrition has continued to meet changing consumer needs through M&A, acquiring fast-growing, trailblazing businesses such as Kevin’s Natural Foods. Kevin’s Natural Foods is a nutritious meal company helping empower even the busiest people to eat clean without sacrificing flavor. Kevin’s Natural Foods saw record sales in 2023, growing by 50%, and recently launched a new line of frozen products. Roxanne Bernstein, a seasoned professional with 20 years of experience in the food and beverage industry and a successful track record in growing brands, was recently named Chief Executive Officer to support the brand’s continued growth.

About Mars, Incorporated

Mars, Incorporated, is driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. As a $50bn+ family-owned business, our diverse and expanding portfolio of leading pet care products and veterinary services support pets all around the world and our quality snacking and food products delight millions of people every day. We produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including ROYAL CANIN®, PEDIGREE®, WHISKAS®, CESAR®, DOVE®, EXTRA®, M&M’s®, SNICKERS® and BEN’S ORIGINAL™. Our international networks of pet hospitals, including BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, VCA™ and ANICURA™ span preventive, general, specialty, and emergency veterinary care, and our global veterinary diagnostics business ANTECH® offers breakthrough capabilities in pet diagnostics. The Mars Five Principles—Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom—inspire our 150,000 Associates to act every day to help create a better world for people, pets and the planet.

Mars Food & Nutrition is a segment of Mars, Incorporated, with 2,000 Associates across the globe. It has some of the world’s leading food brands: Ben’s Original™, Kevin’s Natural Foods, Masterfoods®, SEEDS OF CHANGE®, Tasty Bite®, foodspring™, and DOLMIO® enjoyed in more than 30 markets around the world. For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

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¹ Data sourced in Jan 2024 from continuous survey commissioned by Mars Food & Nutrition and conducted with Streetbees involving 2400 US consumers reporting on their eating habits throughout 2023.

² Top 10 Trends for 2024, Innova Market Insights. Accessed here.

³ Hungry and Confused: The winding road to conscious eating 2022, McKinsey. Accessed here

⁴ Mars Food Nutrition Criteria, 3^rd edition, 2021. Accessed here