Mars North America, as a responsible and family-friendly marketer, supports the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI).
Mars owns many of the top snackfood and food brands globally and has a long history of marketing its products responsibly. Over the years we have adopted guidelines and policies for our advertising and marketing activities, reviewing and updating them periodically to reflect consumer feedback, new technologies, and the latest thinking by advertising self-regulatory bodies.
The hallmark of our marketing commitments is our industry-leading policy to not advertise our snack and other food products to children under the age of 12. Mars will also promote the consumption of our products in the context of a healthy, active lifestyle and a balanced diet. Please see the attached PDF document for full details of the Mars Marketing Commitment.
In addition to our Global Marketing Commitment, Mars North America is pleased to work with the CFBAI in promoting responsible self-regulation of food advertising.
Learn more about Mars Marketing Commitments »
Our Standards for "Better for You" Foods
The CFBAI pledge program is designed to further the goal of promoting healthy dietary lifestyles and choices for children within the framework of each participating company's product portfolio. Our "Better For You" snack products will meet the following criteria:
Per serving the product will contain no more than 150 calories (which is approximately 10 % of total calories for a sedentary individual in the 9 - 12 year old age group), less than or equal to 2 grams of cholesterol-raising fat, no more than 0.5 grams trans fat per serving and no more than 35% sugar, and meet one or more of the following nutritional criteria:
- 1/2 serving of vegetable, fruit, whole grain or low fat dairy, or
- A 25% reduction in total fat, sodium or sugar (consistent with what is required for a "Reduced" claim according to FDA regulations), or
- An excellent source (20% DV) of a nutrient shortfall of one or more nutrients for which the identified child population ages 9 - 12 is deficient (e.g., Vitamins E, K, Mg, Ca, Fiber).
Contributing to servings of fruit, vegetable or whole grain as well as reducing the amount of fat, sugar, sodium and trans fats in the diet are all consistent with the 2005 U.S. Dietary Guidelines. In addition, the specific nutrients chosen for possible fortification are consistent with the nutritional shortfalls of children as identified by expert panels convened by the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine (IOM). In developing our Company standard, we relied on our internal nutrition and health experts, and consulted with independent nutrition experts.
