Who Owns Skittles? The Answer Is More Complicated Than You Think

Few candies are as iconic as Skittles. For more than 50 years, these fruit-flavored tangy little pucks of sugar have invited us to "taste the rainbow" — along with other, decidedly more bizarre Skittles flavors. Beyond its flavors, the candy is also a favorite for how virtually anybody can enjoy it; Skittles is not only part of our list of gluten-free candies, but it's also a delicious inclusion in our guide to vegan candies, too. And because of its ownership, it's in the company of a ton of other beloved brands.

Skittles is made and owned by Mars Wrigley, which also owns M&Ms, Milky Way, Snickers, and an iconic savory food brand, among many, many others. The company is part of the larger Mars, Inc. corporation, which has its hands in pet care brands like Pedigree, snack brands like Combos, and packaged food brands like Miracoli. Skittles has, however, been around for longer than Mars Wrigley as an entity has existed, so there have been a few tweaks to its ownership story over the decades.

Getting the definitive origins of Skittles is a little tricky, and it's not just because the brand claims it's from outer space on its cheeky "Our Story" page. From what we do know, the candy was first manufactured in the U.K. The "Skittles" brand was first used on March 10, 1971, with a U.S. trademark being filed in 1974. A television ad from around that time showed that Skittles was the copyright of Jack Candies Ltd., a now-defunct company that appears to have been a marketer for Mars' British line of products; among those products were Starburst, Galaxy, and Skittles itself.

This indicates that Mars, Inc. has owned Skittles from the very start — the company, through its founder's son Forrest, set up shop in the U.K. back in 1932, so it's likely that the candy was invented by their British arm. Skittles has been manufactured in the United States since 1982 and has seen two small changes in its ownership since then, while still remaining under the larger corporate ownership of Mars, Inc.

In 2008, Mars, Inc. acquired Wrigley — the very same makers of an iconic gum from the Gilded Age — and transferred the Skittles brand to it a year later. Seven years after that, Mars, Inc. decided to simplify its business structure by combining Wrigley with its chocolate segment. This led to the creation of Mars Wrigley, the owner Skittles is listed under on labels today.