Every Mars product sold in the UK broken down by bar, sweet and pack, and checked against NHS daily reference intakes for children aged 4 to 17.
Mars Wrigley's UK range covers two categories that behave very differently in nutritional terms: chocolate bars and sugar confectionery. The chocolate side carries substantial fat alongside the sugar, and much of it saturated. The sweet side carries almost none. That means two products from the same brand can have similar sugar figures and calorie counts that differ by half.
All the sugar in these products is free sugar. None of them contain whole fruit, and the fruit flavourings in the sugar confectionery lines carry no fruit content or fibre. Where products contain nuts, there is a genuine contribution of protein, unsaturated fat and micronutrients — the only meaningful nutritional content anywhere in the range.
The chocolate bars combine sugar with fat from cocoa butter and milk solids, and in several products with caramel, nougat and biscuit. That gives a high calorie density driven as much by fat as by sugar, and saturated fat is often the daily reference intake a single bar uses up fastest.
The nut-containing bars sit slightly apart. Peanuts and almonds add protein and unsaturated fat, which raises the calorie figure while contributing something the rest of the range does not.
The sugar confectionery lines contain little or no fat. The energy comes almost entirely from sugar and glucose syrup, so the calorie figure per gram is lower than chocolate while the free sugar figure per gram is higher. The chews in the range are the exception — they contain fat in the base, which places them between the two.
Format is the largest single variable. The same product sold as a fun-size piece, a standard bar, a duo and a sharing pouch differs several-fold in everything, and sharing formats are frequently eaten by one person in one sitting. A per-bar figure only helps if it matches the bar actually opened.
Each product page includes a full nutrition breakdown per bar and per pack, portion size comparisons, age-adjusted NHS daily reference intake calculations for children aged 4 to 17, an interactive calculator for your child's specific age and gender, and a complete ingredient and allergen guide.
