Mars enters into strategic business partnership with Alibaba in China

Food manufacturer Mars has entered into a global strategic partnership with Alibaba Group, an online and mobile commerce company.

By leveraging Alibaba’s ecosystem, Mars plans to set-up an integrated online and offline business model wherein it will be able to cater to its hundreds of millions of consumers in China.

Alibaba platforms, including Tmall.com and Rural Taobao will sell all of Mars’ brands in China, which include six brands worth more than $1bn each.

With this partnership, it plans to target rural markets of China.

Mars will benefit from Alibaba’s marketing services, media properties, mobile reach, big data and consumer insights to engage with its consumers.

Alibaba’s supply chain management and logistics network will also help boost Mars’ efficiency and reach.

Wrigley China vice-president and managing director Cecilia Li said: "China’s younger generation is the new driving force of consumption. They rely on e-commerce, and place great value on the trustworthiness of the companies behind their brands and products. Besides our well-known brands, Mars meet their expectations by prioritising our product quality, and also through our efforts to elevate industry standards.

"Alibaba is a significant strategic partnership for Mars, as this relationship demonstrates Mars’ principles of ‘quality’ and ‘mutuality’."

Mars and Alibaba are also partnering to create an e-commerce food safety programme through a collaboration with Mars’ Global Food Safety Centre (GFSC) in China.