Mars Wrigley taps consumer obsession to fuel brand growth in APAC

In a market where consumers are exposed to many different confectionery options and bombarded by new innovations at every turn, Mars Wrigley believes that the best way for brands to ensure growth is to push market penetration. “To Mars, market penetration is the foundation of sustainable growth – it measures how many people choose us, whether it is new consumers, light buyers, and those in emerging occasions,” Asia Regional Director of Strategy & Digital Commerce Sanjib Bose told the floor at our Growth Asia Summit 2025 in Singapore. “Growth doesn’t just come from selling more to existing consumers, but from expanding who we reach and when we show up in their lives – which means across more moments, places, and moods.” The firm is targeting Gen Z consumers as a main source of new consumers, and is pushing the development of ‘consumer obsession’ with this group in order to fuel growth. “Gen Z is not just another generation of consumers, but really a central catalyst and the most influential cohort in Asia today, shaping the behavior of their parents, younger siblings, and even peers from older generations,” he said. “Their expectations are high and non-negotiable, defined by authenticity, immediacy, and identity – so if we want to lead in Asia, we must meet them where they are with relevance, realness and respect, essentially developing consumer obsession to consistently serve them wherever, however and whenever they are.” He highlighted this to be exceptionally important in Asia due to the massive untapped potential in this region. “Asia is home to 60% of the world’s population and its diversity, scale, and digital acceleration make it the perfect region to practise our consumer-obsessed strategy at its boldest,” said Bose. “To truly grow penetration here, we must become household names – this means offering products that deeply resonate, focusing on attracting new consumers while continuing to serve and satisfy our loyal base.” Retail strategies have become essential to do this, with both online and offline platforms seen as being equally important. “We started selling on TikTok Shop in some markets and were surprised at how many consumers chose to buy gum, chocolates and mints online – this has evolved to become a major growth channel for us in the Philippines,” he said. “At the same time, it is also clear that traditional offline retail like mom-and-pop stores and warungs are not going anywhere, so it is also crucial for us to reinvent our routes to market and maintain the right relationships to ensure a presence here.” The rise of health consciousness has had interesting impact on the confectionery industry, where many companies have pushed out healthier options of products to meet this demand, but also maintain their position as an ‘indulgence’ category. “The thing is that when consumers are buying confectionery items like chocolate, they know what they are buying – maybe they are looking for better-for-you options, but at the end of the day they just want the chocolate,” he said. “In the whole health consideration, confectionery does also play a very important role in terms of maintaining and boosting emotional health, and this is precisely the reason consumers make these purchases.” Some innovations Mars has made to afford consumers this health-conscious indulgence include smaller portions and sugar reduction. “Snickers is a 95-year old chocolate brand, and we have reformulated this with 56% dark chocolate, half the sugar content, and better nuts in order to provide a better-for-you option,” Bose added. “The format has also been redesigned with portion control in mind, splitting the large bar into two smaller bars, allowing consumers that feeling of better control over their indulgences.”

Mars Wrigley taps consumer obsession to fuel brand growth in APAC

New tactics emerge as a global giant rethinks how to win hearts, minds – and wallets – across a complex region

Related Topics