MARS INTRODUCES CO2COA™: A SUSTAINABILITY INSPIRED ANIMAL-FREE, PLANET-FRIENDLY CHOCOLATE INNOVATION IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PERFECT DAY

Mars embraces the future of snacking and treating, eco-conscious consumer trends, and caring for the planet through innovative and industry-leading partnership

CHICAGO, June 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Mars, Incorporated, a world leader in confectionery, announced a new sustainability inspired chocolate experience, CO2COA™, is joining the family of snacks and treats that includes M&M'S^®, SNICKERS^®, SKITTLES^®, and EXTRA^® Gum. 

Mars has partnered with Perfect Day, Inc., to launch the company's first ever earth-friendly and animal-free chocolate innovation in the U.S. The name CO2COA is a thoughtful and playful way to pay homage to its Rainforest Alliance-Certified cocoa and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (CO₂) in product sourcing. This innovation provides consumers with a delicious earth-friendly, animal-free, and lactose-free chocolate experience and is the latest sustainability-inspired innovation from Mars.

Mars believes the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today, and the company's snacks and treats inspire moments of happiness every day around the world. CO2COA maintains the silky-smooth taste consumers expect while leaning into the flexitarian dietary trends today's conscious consumers are embracing. Mars CO2COA sources Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa and uses Perfect Day animal-free dairy protein, making it entirely free from lactose and cholesterol while wrapped in paper-based packaging.

"At Mars, we bring our consumer-passion to innovation, developing on-trend innovations that support a world where both people and the planet thrive," said Chris Rowe, Global Vice President of Research & Development, Mars Wrigley. "The creation of CO2COA is an inventive example of how we partner with technology innovators, like Perfect Day, to bring great new offerings to our consumers. We're excited to collaborate with Perfect Day and continuing to explore the potential of alternative proteins to help create a more delicious and sustainable future."

Perfect Day has created the world's first nature-identical dairy protein, without any animal inputs. A recent lifecycle assessment found that their precision fermentation process uses up to 99% less water and produces up to 97% fewer greenhouse gas emissions, compared to traditional production methods. By partnering with leaders in the food system, like Mars, who are innovating to use less of earth's resources, Perfect Day is broadening that impact for a kinder, greener tomorrow. 

"Partnering with a forward-looking leader like Mars to accelerate their innovation and sustainability initiatives is a hallmark example of how we're extending our impact," said Ryan Pandya, Perfect Day cofounder and CEO. "Today, companies big and small need to deliver on the needs of their consumers, who won't compromise on taste or the future of our planet. We're thrilled to help a world-class company like Mars do just that as we champion a path towards a more resilient food system for all."   

Guided by the Mars Sustainable in a Generation Plan,CO2COA is one of many examples of the work being done in service of the business' sustainability goals, which focus on three key areas – Healthy Planet, Thriving People, and Nourishing Wellbeing. Through its partnership with Perfect Day, Mars combines the company's 100+ year leadership in chocolate with the commitment to a healthy planet to create a silkysmooth chocolate innovation that's made with both consumer preference and the planet in mind. 

"CO2COA is another example of how Mars continues to think and act differently to help create the world we want tomorrow," said Alastair Child, Chief Sustainability Officer, Mars Wrigley. "From certified cocoa and a reduction in CO₂ emissions to animal-free dairy, CO2COA was thoughtfully designed as we work to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across Mars' full value chain by 2050."

CO2COA is one of many latest innovations from snacks and treats maker Mars, including M&M'S^® Munchums, SNICKERS^® Hi Protein Bar, and STARBURST^® Airs. CO2COA also follows Mars recent global packaging innovations including BALISTO^® paper-based packaging in Germany, ORBIT^® Gum Megapacks adding on-pack recycling guides from How2Recycle^® in the U.S., and the announcement that all Mars^® bars sold in the UK, Ireland and Canada will be certified as carbon neutral by 2023.

The Mars CO2COA innovation will be available for purchase online at www.co2coa.com, beginning today, June 16, 2022, while supplies last. For more information on CO2COA and Mars sustainability efforts please visit www.co2coa.com or join in on the social media conversation using #CO2COA. 

About Mars, Incorporated
For more than a century, Mars, Incorporated has been driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. This idea is at the center of who we have always been as a global, family-owned business. Today, Mars is transforming, innovating and evolving in ways that affirm our commitment to making a positive impact on the world around us. 

Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of confectionery, food, and petcare products and services, we employ 125,000 dedicated Associates who are all moving in the same direction: forward. With $40 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world's best-loved brands including DOVE^®, EXTRA^®, M&M's^®, MILKY WAY^®, SNICKERS^®, TWIX^®, ORBIT^®, PEDIGREE^®, ROYAL CANIN^®, SKITTLES^®, BEN'S ORIGINAL™, WHISKAS^®, COCOAVIA^®, and 5™; and take care of half of the world's pets through our nutrition, health and services businesses, including AniCura, Banfield Pet Hospitals™, BluePearl^®, Linnaeus, and VCA™.

We know we can only be truly successful if our partners and the communities in which we operate prosper as well. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire our Associates to take action every day to help create a world tomorrow in which the planet, its people and pets can thrive. The Mars Compass, inspired by the Economics of Mutuality, is used to measure the company's progress in service of its purpose; The world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today.

For more information about Mars, please visit mars.com. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

About Perfect Day, Inc. 
Founded in 2014 by Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi, Perfect Day is on a mission to create a kinder, greener tomorrow through the harmony of science and nature. Leveraging expertise across biology, food innovation, and consumer products, Perfect Day supports companies in developing, scaling, and commercializing next-generation products that satisfy market demands and champion a path toward a sustainable future.

The company's flagship product, the world's first precision-fermented protein, debuted in 2020 and today can be found in animal-free ice creams, cream cheese, baked goods, and sports nutrition products across the U.S., Hong Kong, and Singapore. Instead of relying on cows, Perfect Day utilizes microflora to create proprietary animal-free milk protein. Perfect Day's protein can be used across a range of products to deliver the same taste and texture while supporting the planet. An ISO compliant, third-party reviewed life cycle assessment (LCA) found that Perfect Day's whey protein reduces blue water consumption by up to 99%, greenhouse gas emissions by up to 97%, and non-renewable energy use by up to 60%, when compared to conventional production methods.

To learn more, visit perfectday.com or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Mars, Incorporated