Manufacturers: Mars Wrigley
Photos by Rachel Lock
When Americans crave chocolate they often reach for one of the millions of pieces of candy the Mars Wrigley Topeka plant produces every day. The plant makes classic confections like Peanut M&M’S®, Twix® and miniature varieties of Snickers®, but it also manufactures fun new flavors like Twix Cookies and Cream and M&M’S Caramel. The plant will soon be producing a much-anticipated fudge brownie version of M&M’S too.
The plant’s new permanent flavor products are the result of a $30 million capital investment to expand production capacity for its Twix and M&M lines. In May 2019, the Joint Economic Development Organization (JEDO) approved a $66,000 incentive to help Mars Wrigley defray its capital investment costs for its Phase Two expansion, which is anticipated to have a $38.5 million impact.
The Topeka site opened in March 2014 following a $340 million corporate investment and was named Food Engineering’s 2015 “Plant of the Year.” Whenever the company conducts consumer contests to select new Peanut M&M flavors, the Topeka plant has been tapped to produce the contenders, which have included coffee nut, to toffee nut, chili nut and others.
“The corporation’s continued investment in the Topeka plant goes back to the original decision made to locate here,” said Bret Spangler, former Topeka site director. “A central location in the middle of the country, access to railroads and major highways and a talent pool to support the plant played out extremely well. What really flipped the switch, though, was assessing the community’s intangible qualities and realizing they were compatible with our corporate values.”
MARS WRIGLEY | BY THE NUMBERS
The Phase Two expansion will position the Topeka plant to keep up with existing demand and evolving consumer trends.
COVID-19 UPDATE
Mars, Incorporated announced an initial cash and in-kind donation of $20 million to support people, pets and communities most affected by COVID-19. In the U.S., Mars made donations of both human and pet food to organizations including Operation Gratitude, Feeding America and Rescue Bank, a program of GreaterGood. org. Mars Wrigley will also provide $1 million in product donations to food banks, frontline healthcare, and essential workers through our community partners.
