Mars announces £161m investment at historic Melton Mowbray factory
Mars, Incorporated, the family-owned business behind household brands including WHISKAS®, PEDIGREE® and SHEBA®, Ben’s Original™, EXTRA®, M&M’s® and SNICKERS®, has today announced a £161 million investment to modernise and future-proof its historic pet nutrition factory in Melton Mowbray.
Mars has been part of the Melton Mowbray community for 75 years, and is the birthplace of iconic brands including WHISKAS® and PEDIGREE®. Today, the site stands as one of the region’s largest employers and a vital production hub for Mars Petcare, supplying 95% of its output to British households and exporting the remaining 5% to key European markets. With flagship brand WHISKAS® feeding 6.6 million cats nationwide – more than half of the country’s cat population – this investment reinforces Mars, Incorporated’s long-standing commitment to the local community and strengthens its capacity to meet evolving consumer demand across the UK, the world’s third-largest pet food market.
Running through 2031, the modernisation programme will establish Melton Mowbray as Mars, Incorporated’s primary pouched pet food factory in the UK. The upgrade will install advanced pouch production lines designed to support recyclable mono-polypropylene (mono-PP) packaging, designed for improved recyclability and will support the business’ ambitions to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. The new, cutting-edge technology will also improve efficiency – including AI-powered cameras to detect quality defects earlier and minimise waste. Together, these upgrades will create a more modern, resilient and future-ready manufacturing operation.
Sharon Ross, Plant Manager at Mars Melton Mowbray, said:
“Melton Mowbray holds a unique place in Mars history as our first pet care site. Having celebrated 75 years of manufacturing this year, this £161 million investment is a profound vote of confidence in our site, our Associates, and the wider community. By integrating cutting-edge technology and expanding our apprenticeship programme, we are building on our proud heritage, equipping the next generation with future-ready engineering skills, and writing an exciting new chapter for the iconic brands like WHISKAS® made right here.”
In addition to technology upgrades, the transformation directly invests in British engineering skills and career pathways. In its first year, the investment will create more than 30 skilled technical and engineering roles and expand the site’s permanent apprenticeship cohort to 33 positions. These apprenticeships will focus on technical and operational areas, including mechanical and electrical engineering.
Kevin Crook, acting leader of Leicestershire County Council said:
“This is absolutely fantastic for Melton Mowbray – Mars has been an important part of the local community for eight decades and this significant investment highlights their commitment to the area. We want to help make this a success for Mars and Leicestershire, which is why we’re working to bring partners together to help increase employment opportunities for local people and opportunities for local suppliers and contractors to be a part of this investment. Melton Mowbray has helped to make Mars the successful business it is today, and I’m sure this will continue over the coming years.”
Over the last five years, more than 50 apprentices have completed their programmes at the Melton Mowbray site. Across Mars UK’s wider business, more than 140 apprentices are currently employed, supported by a dedicated programme that develops skills in artificial intelligence, digital systems and data analytics. Mars offers permanent placements to 97% of apprentices on completion of their programmes. Building on this track record, the investment will give more young people the skills and experience to enter the workforce, offering a direct route into careers in modern manufacturing.
James Pearson, an apprentice at the Mars Melton Mowbray factory, said:
“The history of the Melton factory is one of the things that makes working here feel special – our grandma worked here and now we do too, so it’s very special to have that connection to Melton and Mars in our family. Generations of local people have helped make brands such as WHISKAS® and PEDIGREE® here, and as apprentices we are proud to be learning from that experience while developing the technical skills needed to move with the factory’s future. This investment means more young people from the area will have the chance to become part of that story.”
This latest milestone brings total investment by Mars across its UK operational and manufacturing network to £661 million since 2021, spanning its snacking, food and pet care businesses. Mars has eight UK factories, including sites in Slough, Plymouth, Melton Mowbray, Birstall, Milton Keynes, Castle Cary and King’s Lynn. Its wider pet care business includes the Waltham Petcare Science Institute in Leicestershire, which researches animal health and nutrition, and Linnaeus, a network of more than 180 veterinary clinics and referral hospitals across the UK and Ireland.
