Mars Snacking is abandoning the city where it invented M&M's.
The candy-and-snack maker, part of the consumer goods conglomerate Mars, plans to exit its headquarters at 110 Edison Place in Newark, New Jersey. Mars Snacking moved into the downtown building, called Ironside Newark, in 2020. But this month the division filed a notice with state labor officials saying it was laying off 307 people at its Newark base by Oct. 16, signaling its departure.
The pending closure reflects Mars Snacking's consolidation of operations in Chicago, where the business has its global headquarters, while bringing an end to its Newark office presence. The division was formerly called Mars Wrigley Confectionery U.S.
Business leaders and trade groups have long argued that the Garden State's high taxes and costs are driving companies away. And Mars Snacking's plan to leave Newark, although still maintaining a large facility in Hackettstown, New Jersey, is the latest blow.
Samsung Electronics America in June said it was moving its headquarters at 700 Sylvan Ave. in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, to its existing campus in Plano, Texas. And ExxonMobil earlier this year decided to redomicile and make its legal home Texas rather than the Garden State. The oil company was incorporated in New Jersey but its physical headquarters is in Texas.
"Following a comprehensive review of our Mars Snacking North American office footprint, we will be sunsetting the Newark market hub for Mars Snacking associates by December 2027, consistent with our previously communicated move to Chicago," a company spokeswoman said in an email to CoStar News on Friday.
"This decision is part of our broader strategy to position Mars Snacking for long-term growth and strengthen our operations in key locations across North America," she said. "Mars has a rich history in New Jersey. We remain committed to the state and will continue to invest in our operations, including our ongoing innovation and manufacturing work in Hackettstown."
McLean, Virginia-based Mars is a global manufacturer of brands including Snickers and Skittles, as well as of pet food, gum, chocolate and other products. In 2017, its snack division announced plans to base its U.S. headquarters in the Garden State with a new location in Newark.
In a press release at that time, Mars Snacking said it was returning to its roots in Newark, where Mars opened up shop more than 75 years earlier "when M&M's candies were first created in 1941 as military rations during World War II."
Mars Snacking leases about 148,000 square feet in Newark at a redeveloped property owned by Edison Properties, according to CoStar data.
In 2025, Mars Snacking leased a large swath of office space in Chicago's Fulton Market neighborhood at 400 N. Aberdeen St. after acquiring Kellanova, the snack food company spun off from Kellogg, for $36 billion. The deal was for roughly 170,000 square feet, according to CoStar.
In March, Mars Snacking unveiled and confirmed its plans for Fulton Market. It said it would invest $100 million and bring 600 new jobs to that location, which will serve as a North America regional office. An accelerator division will take over the former Kellanova headquarters space at 412 N. Wells St. in River North.
In 2022, Mars Snacking announced plans to create its largest innovation hub through a roughly $40 million expansion of its office and research campus on Goose Island in Chicago. That enlarged space opened in early 2024.
The New Jersey Economic Development Authority awarded Mars Snacking $31.5 million in tax incentives over a 10-year period to put its headquarters in Newark. That award has capital investment and job creation requirements that likely can't be fulfilled now.
NJBIZ.com earlier reported Mars' New Jersey departure.