mars

You've heard of the door-to-door Avon lady, and been to Tupperware parties. But have you ever been to a Dove Chocolate party?

Now you can. Two weeks ago, candy giant Mars launched its newest venture, a direct-selling company called Dove Chocolate Discoveries.

The company is targeting women and men who want to start an at-home business to become independent sales consultants. These "chocolatiers" then throw "tasting parties" where they teach friends how to make everything from chocolate martinis to chocolate truffles. The goal? To convince guests to buy chocolate rimmers, cupcake baking kits, and chocolate-covered graham crackers, among other things.

With Halloween around the corner, everyone has candy on the brain, so the prospects could be bright. Sales consultants make at least 25 percent of everything they sell, so it could also be lucrative. What do you think of the concept? Would you buy lots of Mars products at a chocolate party?

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Hoping to jump on the premium chocolate bandwagon, Mars has launched a brand-new line of M&M's candies called M&M's Premium. These newfangled M&M's are made from an entirely different chocolate recipe and have no candy shell. The chocolates are significantly larger in size and more irregular in shape than milk chocolate M&M's, and are filled on the inside with various flavorings that include white chocolate and mint. The M&M's are coated with a speckled metallic skin that corresponds to one of five flavors: mint chocolate, mocha, triple chocolate, raspberry almond and chocolate almond.

The new M&M's are in stores now, and are sold in a 6-ounce, upright package for $3.99. Have you tried any of the new flavors yet?

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For the second time in two years, best-selling candybar, Snickers, has found itself in the middle of a controversy surrounding their latest ad campaign. Candy company Mars has yanked the ad from UK airwaves, where it received backlash from gay-rights activists for being homophobic. The commercial featured surly '80s icon, Mr. T, berating a speed-walking man, calling him "a disgrace to the man race." The tagline? "Get some nuts."

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation criticized Mars and its ad agency for perpetuating stereotypes of gay men. Mars issued a statement last night, saying that the commercial was intended to be funny, not offensive.

While I can see how the ad was meant to be funny, it might have taken things too far. After watching the spot below, let me know what you think. Do you feel the ad is cruel and insensitive, or was the whole situation blown out of proportion?

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NASA is looking for life on Mars and just released pictures from an unexplored region of the red planet. The Mars Phoenix lander traveled 430 million miles from Earth and took 10 months to reach its destination. The mission cost $457 million, including $37 million from Canada.

The lander has a robotic arm, which will search for ice, aka water, on the planet. NASA scientists, almost certain that Mars has some conditions for life, are looking for proof. So far, there have been no complications!

Considering 50 percent of Mars missions fail, do you think this project is worth the exorbitant amount of money? Is financing scientific discoveries not immediately relevant to your everyday life still an important function of government? Check out these great pictures from the Martian planet!

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This morning Mars Inc — makers of M&Ms, Snickers, Skittles, and more — announced that it would buy gum manufacturer Wrigley for $23 billion. If you recall, the Wrigley company recently announced new packaging and flavors, in order to help sluggish gum sales.

The deal will create the world's largest confectionary company, and could possibly force Hershey's and Cadbury to join forces — there's been previous rumors of these two combining in the past.

The Wrigley portion of the company will continue to run as an independent unit, and it will be helmed by current Chairman Bill Wrigley. The deal is seen as a win-win on both parts, as Wrigley will now have a bigger infrastructure to help them with marketing and distribution. The interesting foodie tidbit is that current nonchocolate Mars brands — Starburst, Skittles, etc. — will now become part of the Wrigley portfolio.

So tell me, what do you think of these two powerhouses joining forces? Do you care if it is one giant company? Do you think it will affect the way the candy tastes?

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