Starburst is owned by Mars (the United States), which acquired the brand on 6 October 2008 from Wrigley, as part of a $23 billion deal that also included Extra, Orbit and Skittles.[1] Before Mars, Starburst was owned by Wrigley to 2008.[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Mars, Incorporated — our brands. Last checked .
Starburst chews were launched in Britain in 1960 as Opal Fruits, with a name chosen in a competition, and renamed Starburst in 1998 to unify the brand internationally. The change was unpopular enough in Britain that the original name has been revived for limited periods since.
The USPTO record for the Starburst mark lists Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company as the owner of record (serial number 72449666). A trademark is often held by a group company rather than the listed parent, so the registrant's name can differ from the owner named above.[2]
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Mars ownership tree →
See the full Mars brand portfolio (42) →
Mars controls 42 brands on Brandtree, 31 of them in food.
The 83 brands in candy & sugar confectionery on Brandtree belong to 36 owners. The largest is Cloetta, with 6; Mars has 3.
| Brand | Owner | Owner based in |
|---|---|---|
| Ahlgrens bilar | Cloetta | 🇸🇪 Sweden |
| Bottle Caps | Ferrero | 🇮🇹 Italy |
| Charleston Chew | Tootsie Roll | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Bon Bon Bum | Colombina | 🇨🇴 Colombia |
| Candy Kittens | Katjes International | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| Airheads | Perfetti Van Melle | 🇳🇱 Netherlands |
| Goldbears | Haribo | 🇩🇪 Germany |
| Háls | Nói Síríus | 🇮🇸 Iceland |
Mars is a family-owned company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, United States, founded in 1911. Brandtree records 42 brands under its control.
Mars is one of the largest privately held companies in the world, owned by the Mars family since Frank Mars began making sweets in Tacoma in 1911. It publishes no financial statements. Its four segments are snacking, pet nutrition, food and Mars Wrigley, and it agreed to acquire Kellanova in 2024.
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 552 brands that began in the United Kingdom. 291 of them (53%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country, Starburst among them.
Mars acquired the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company for $80 a share in cash, financed in part by Berkshire Hathaway and Goldman Sachs. The deal created Mars Wrigley and made Mars the largest confectionery company in the world.
The parent company of Starburst is Mars, a family-owned company headquartered in the United States.
Starburst originated in the United Kingdom in 1960, but it is owned today by Mars, which is headquartered in the United States. So Starburst is a British-origin brand under American ownership.
Mars completed its acquisition of Starburst on 6 October 2008, after announcing the deal on 28 April 2008. The deal, which also included Extra, Orbit and Skittles, was valued at $23 billion.
Before Mars, Starburst was owned by Wrigley until 2008.
Yes. As of 27 September 2026, Starburst is still owned by Mars. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
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