Mars - Nice on the outside but a big surprise on the inside. - Analyst Mars Employee Review

2.0
Jun 1, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The company as a whole has fun activities and events for associates to be a part of and they give away tickets, etc. which is a nice perk. The benefits are pretty good and I think it's good that Mars is a family owned business.

Cons

I feel like Mars isn't very innovative or "trend setting" with their products. Leadership within the company seems to be all over the place and getting ahead seems impossible unless you're a "favorite". I definitely feel like the workplace isn't gender neutral and it's more about personality than skill when it comes to promotions or even lateral moves. It's really about who you know and how much you're willing to suck up to everyone. There's also a high level of unprofessionalism that I've never experienced before. I've been shocked at the things I've seen and heard from upper management. Sometimes it feels as if I'm in high school again with the amount of unfair treatment and gossiping that I've witnessed (not directed towards me but about co-workers). I feel stuck and like there's no one to trust or turn to regarding these situations. It feels like Mars doesn't deal with problem individuals but instead, they just pass them on to another position or another department in order to not address the issues.

Explore other reviews about Mars

3.0
Jan 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Company car (fuel card, insurance, etc) - Good benefits - Great brand exposure/understanding of CPG sales at the retail level - Annual sales meeting is fun, but exhausting - Simple job

Cons

- Micromanaged by leadership (EVERYTHING is tracked) - Extremely repetitive work (not much freedom in creating your schedule, same tasks over and over, etc.) - Dealing with retail management. If you don't have respectful store managers, good luck. A lot of your KPI's are out of your control and your experience relies on your store. - As DOZENS of other people have said, this is a merchandising job - not sales. You are responsible for placing product on the sales floor after consulting with the store (basically asking management who only views you as free manual labor). There is no commission/incentive for producing positive results. - SEASONS: this is the reason why you have this job if you're working with the Walmart channel. You have unrealistic expectations set from leadership to pack out hundreds of heavy cases of candy each holiday season after begging store management for space to place it. Most of the stores' back rooms are a complete mess and a lot of your product is inaccessible. Long days are expected with no additional pay. - Work/life balance: It is frowned upon to work the bare minimum of 40 hours/week. Your stores get backed up while you're on PTO. Overall: an okay role This isn't a bad job by any means, you just need to know what the role entails before taking this job. You need to relocate for any future opportunities within the company.

2
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Mars Response
5mo
Thank you for taking the time to write your review. We’re sorry to hear your experience with us has not been positive. We aim to support our Associates in every way throughout their time with us and are committed to their wellbeing and development. Please reach out to the independent, confidential team at ombudsman@effem.com, and we look forward to discussing this further.
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