16 August 2024 (TDI): The creator of Pop-Tarts and Pringles, Kellanova, has reached an agreement to be acquired by confectionery major Chicago-based Mars Snacking for over $36 billion (£28 billion).
Legal experts don’t anticipate any regulatory concerns, and the firms labeled it the biggest snacking buyout of the year.
Mintel, a market data company, reports that consumers on a tight budget have been choosing less expensive junk food that is under brand ownership.
Additionally, it stated that there is a trend in the UK toward healthier snacking.
Kellanova owns brands like Pop-Tarts, while the massive, family-run Mars produces sweets like Twix, Bounty, Milky Way, M&Ms, and Skittles.
Both of them assert that they also provide healthier solutions, such as Nutrigrain for Kellanova and Nature’s Bakery for Mars.
According to legal experts cited by the Reuters news agency, the proposed purchase is expected to clear regulatory barriers and exceeds Mars’ $23 billion takeover of Wrigley in 2008.
In2023, Kellanova separated from Kelloggs to become a separate company that markets cereal and snacks outside of North America.
It will become a component of Chicago-based Mars Snacking, which is run by Andrew Clarke. According to Mars, the transaction should be finalized in the first part of 2025.
According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank, between September 2021 and September 2023, the cost of food and drink increased by about one-third.
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Laws designed to reduce the number of obese individuals and the prevalence of other health issues linked to consuming snacks high in fat, salt, and sugar are also putting pressure on junk food in the UK.
Supermarkets and their English online counterparts will not be permitted to advertise junk food at store entrances, aisle ends, or checkout counters as of October 2022.
Supermarkets will no longer be permitted to run “buy one get one free” deals for junk food, sometimes known as “volume price promotions,” as of October 2025. Tesco and Sainsbury’s have already discontinued similar campaigns.
