Mars decides to scale back business in Russia
Mars is the latest big name in the packaged food industry to announce changes to its operations in Russia, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The family-owned giant, which employs nearly 6,000 workers in Russia, will “scale down” its operations but still sell food for people and pets locally.
“Mars has been operating in Russia for over 30 years and we employ nearly 6,000 people who have been an important part of our business for decades. We will continue to support them, but business as usual is not an option. This is a humanitarian crisis and it guides all our actions,” the company said in a statement on its corporate website.
“We have decided to scale back our operations and focus our efforts in Russia on our vital role in feeding the Russian people and pets. All profits from our Russian operations will be used for humanitarian purposes. We have suspended new investments in Russia and will not import or export our products to or from Russia. Our social media and advertising activities in Russia and Belarus remain suspended.”
Mars produces confectionery at a factory in Stupino, south of Moscow. It also has a pet food production facility 2,100 miles to the east in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk.
The company added that it was supporting staff in Ukraine “as well as those crossing the border”. It added: “This is a rapidly changing and uncertain situation – if we need to take further action, we will not hesitate to do so. We reiterate our support for the innocent victims of this war and call for a peaceful resolution.”
This week saw a flurry of announcements from some of the world’s largest food companies operating in Russia.
This week, Nesting, PepsiCo, Unilever And Danone All of them have announced that they will suspend their investments in Russia, but will continue the production and sale of certain food products.
Some manufacturers have decided to stop operating in Russia. On Monday (March 7), Arla Foods said it had “started preparations to suspend its operations in Russia,” a step that would “include both local operations and imports”.
Finland-based Valio, which has a production facility near Moscow, has left Russia. “We strongly condemn the Russian invasion of independent Ukraine,” said Valio President and CEO Annikka Hurme said in a statement on Monday“Valio does not meet the ethical conditions to continue operating in Russia, and therefore we will close our operations in Russia.”
“Mars to ‘scaling back’ Russian affairs” was originally created and published by Just eata brand of GlobalData.
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