Longtime Mars veteran to lead growing Health & Wellness division, pivotal to company’s category vision for the future of snacking
CHICAGO – Mars, a global leader in confectionery, snacking, food and pet care products and services, announces that it has appointed Blas Maquivar as Global President, Health & Wellness, Mars Snacking. With a tenure at Mars spanning nearly 14 years, Maquivar will oversee the company’s expanding Health & Wellness portfolio including brands Nature’s Bakery, Trü Frü and KIND, the latter of which has expanded to 30 global markets outside of the U.S. and Canada since Mars took full ownership in 2020.
Maquivar joined Mars in 2010 as General Manager, Mars Chocolate Mexico. He then served in several senior leadership roles across the Snacking business, most recently as President, Global Emerging Markets (GEM), where he led over 140 fast-growing markets including Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Central America. During his tenure, GEM experienced double-digit growth of 11 percent year-over-year.
As part of its vision to transform the snacking category and embrace shifting consumer needs and preferences, Mars has expanded the foothold of its Health & Wellness division within the permissible snacking category in the last several years. Under Maquivar’s leadership, the Health & Wellness division will continue to nurture and globally scale its existing brands while remaining an attractive destination for founder-led brands. This all comes in service of the company’s greater ambition to double its Snacking business and grow revenue to $36 billion within the next decade.
Since joining Mars, Trü Frü and Nature’s Bakery have also flourished further, with Nature’s Bakery’s net sales growing 78 percent post-acquisition. The brand is on pace in 2024 to be more than double its size since it was bought out in 2020. Following Mars’ 2023 acquisition of Trü Frü, the brand’s net sales grew by over 50 percent that same year, with Q1 2024 net sales up 80 percent versus Q1 2023.
“We will use our legacy of innovation for growing and scaling emerging snacking brands, and are confident in our bold category vision to lead the future of snacking,” said Andrew Clarke, Global President, Mars Snacking. “Blas has an outstanding track record of leadership and is a natural choice to accelerate the positive trajectory of our dynamic Health & Wellness division.”
“Our snacks have been enjoyed in every corner of the world for years, and our Health & Wellness division has emerged as a key apparatus in ensuring we deliver for consumers across all consumption occasions,” said Maquivar. “I look forward to working with this talented team to drive further growth and portfolio evolution, continuing to bring consumers the snacks and treats that they love globally – including what will hopefully become some new favorites.”
Gabriel Fernandez, General Manager of Mars Wrigley Mexico, will succeed Maquivar. Fernandez has been with Mars since 2005 and has held regional and corporate leadership roles in Latin America, Europe and North America.
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 global, family-owned business, Mars is transforming, innovating, and evolving to make a positive impact on the world. Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of quality snacking, food, and pet care products and services, we employ 140,000+ dedicated Associates. With more than $47 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including Ben’s Original™, CESAR®, Cocoavia®, DOVE®, EXTRA®, KIND®, M&M’s®, SNICKERS®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, and WHISKAS®. We are creating A Better World for Pets through our global network of pet hospitals and diagnostic services – including AniCura, BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, Linnaeus and VCA™ – using cutting edge technology to develop breakthrough programs in genetic health screening and DNA testing.
