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Mars Bar VS Milky Way: What’s the Difference?

Mars Bar VS Milky Way: What’s the Difference?

Everyone loves a good chocolate bar; some are common favorites and are loved by almost everyone.

Mars bar and Milky bar are two of the most popular chocolate bars, every age loves these bars as they’re simple yet flavorful. However, what makes them different? Because despite the packaging, they both look the same.

Mars, also known as Mars bar, is the name of two different varieties of chocolate bars that were produced by Mars, Incorporated. The first time it was manufactured was in 1932 in Slough, England by a man called Forrest Mars, Sr. The British version of the Mars bar contains caramel and nougat, which is coated with milk chocolate. The American version contains nougat and toasted almonds, a coat of milk chocolate. However, later, caramel was added. In 2002, the American version was unfortunately discontinued. However, it was brought back in slightly a different form the following year with the name “Snickers Almond”.

Milky Way is a brand of another chocolate bar that is produced and marketed by Mars, Incorporated. There are two varieties sold in different regions with different names. The US Milky Way chocolate bar is sold under the name Mars bar worldwide, including Canada. The global Milky Way bar is sold as the 3 Musketeers in the US and Canada. Note: These bars aren’t sold in Canada as the Milky Way. The Milky Way bar contains nougat and caramel and a milk chocolate covering.

The difference between the Mars bar and Milky Way is that the American Mars bar contains nougat and toasted almonds, whereas Milky Way is made with nougat and caramel. The Mars bar is fancier than the Milky Way bar. The similarity between them is that both are covered with milk chocolate.

Keep reading to know more.

What is a Mars Bar in America?

snickers chocolate bars on the shelf
In 2003, Mars, Incorporated made the Mars bar with Snickers Almond.

Mars bar is the name of a chocolate bar that was manufactured by Mars, Incorporated. There are two Mars bars: the British version is made with nougat and a layer of caramel with milk chocolate coating. The other is an American version made with nougat and toasted almonds with a coating of milk chocolate. As there wasn’t caramel in the first version of the American Mars bar, later caramel was added to the recipe.

In the United States, Mars bar is a chocolate candy bar that is made with nougat and toasted almonds and covered with a thin layer of milk chocolate. Initially, it didn’t contain caramel, however, later it was added.

In 2002, it was discontinued but was brought back in the year 2010 through Walmart stores. Again at the end of 2011, it was discontinued and again revived in 2016 by Ethel M this 2016 version was the “original American version”, meaning it doesn’t contain caramel.

In 2003, Mars, Incorporated made the Mars bar with Snickers Almond. It’s the same as the Mars bar, meaning it has nougat, almond, and caramel covered with milk chocolate. however, you can find some differences. For instance, the chunks of almonds are smaller in the Snickers Almond than in the Mars bar.

What is the Milky Way in America?

A bunch of chocolate bars
The American Milky Bar of 52.2 grams contains 240 calories.

The Milky Way is a chocolate bar that has nougat, a layer of caramel, and a cover of milk chocolate. The chocolate for the coating of Milky bars was supplied by Hershey’s.

It was created by Frank C. Mars in the year 1932. Furthermore, it was originally produced in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The trademark “Milky Way” was registered on the 10th of March 1952 in the US. Nationally it was introduced in 1924, with sales of about $800,000 that year.

By 1926, there were two variants, one contained chocolate nougat with the coating of milk chocolate, and the other one contained vanilla nougat with the coating of dark chocolate. Both were sold for 5¢.

In 1932, the bar was sold as a two-piece bar. However, four years later, in 1936, the chocolate and vanilla were sold separately. The vanilla version, coated with dark chocolate, was sold under the name “Forever Yours” until 1979. Later “Forever Yours” was given another name, which was “Milky Way Dark,” and again renamed “Milky Way Midnight.”

In 1935, Mars came up with a marketing slogan, “The sweet you can eat between meals”, but later it was changed to “At work, rest and play, you get three great tastes in a Milky Way”. By 2006, the company started using a new slogan in the US, “Comfort in every bar, ” and recently, they have been using “Life’s better the Milky Way”.

There was a version of Milky Way named “Milky Way Simply Caramel Bar”, it was a version that contained just caramel that was covered with milk chocolate. This version became quite popular in 2010. Mars in the year 2011, launched a small-size Simply Caramel bar, which was marketed as a fun size. Since then, there has been another version introduced with salted caramel.

In 2012, Milky Way Caramel Apple Minis gained popularity and were sold limitedly for the Halloween season.

Here’s the calorie difference between the American Milky bar, Milky Way Midnight, and Milky Way Caramel bar:

  • American Milky bar (52.2 grams) – 240 calories
  • Milky Way Midnight (50 grams) – 220 calories
  • Milky Way Caramel bar (54 grams) – 250 calories

Learn more about the differences between Mars, the Milky Way, and Snickers bar.

Mars VS Milky Way VS Snickers

Is Milky Way discontinued?

The Milky Way bar was never discontinued. Mars Bar was discontinued a few times and was relaunched shortly after that.

In 2002, the Mars bar was discontinued and was relaunched in 2010 through Walmart stores. In 2011, it was again discontinued, however again revived in 2016 by Ethel M.

In 2003, Mars replaced the Mars bar with Snickers Almond, It’s the same as the Mars bar; it has nougat, almond, and caramel with coverage of milk chocolate. However, the chunks of almonds are smaller in the Snickers Almond than in the Mars bar almond chunks.

Is Mars bar chocolate the same as Galaxy?

Mars bars are a different chocolate bar than Galaxy chocolate bars. The only similarity between these two bars is that both are manufactured by the same company which is known as Mars. Furthermore, Mars bar is only one chocolate bar, but Galaxy has a wide range of chocolate bars. It also has vegan options.

pieces of chocolate bar
Galaxy is a candy bar that is produced and marketed by Mars Inc.

In the 1960s, it was first manufactured in the UK, and now it’s sold in almost every country. In 2014, Galaxy was considered the second-best-selling chocolate bar in the United Kingdom, the first-best-selling chocolate bar was Cadbury Dairy Milk. The Galaxy manufactures a huge variety of products, for example, milk chocolate, caramel, and Cookie Crumble.

Galaxy launched a vegan range in 2019, which includes Galaxy Bubbles. It’s the same as other Galaxy chocolate bars, it’s just aerated. You can also find Galaxy Bubbles in the orange variety.

Here’s a nutritional table for Galaxy Bubbles chocolate bar.

Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)Quantity
Energy2,317 kJ (554 kcal)
Carbohydrates54.7 g
Sugars54.1 g
Dietary fiber1.5 g
Fat34.2 g
Saturated20.4 g
Protein6.5 g
Sodium7%110 mg
Nutritional value per 100 g of Galaxy Bubbles

Galaxy Honeycomb Crisp is also a vegan chocolate bar manufactured by Mars, it has small chunks of granular nougats of honeycomb toffee.

What’s an alternative to the Milky Way?

a bunch of chocolates laid out
Every person has a different preference, however, Milky Way is one of the few chocolate bars which is loved by everyone.

As you know, Milky Way has nougat and caramel, and there may be some people that may not like caramel, therefore the alternative of Milky Way can be 3 Musketeers because it has only nougat with a coating of milk chocolate. Furthermore, 3 Musketeers contains the same nutrition as the Milky Way bar, the only difference is 5 mg of sodium which is almost unnoticeable.

There are varieties of Milky Way chocolate bars, depending on the region it’s sold. For instance, In the United States, Milky Way has nougat and caramel with a coating of milk chocolate, however, outside of the U.S., Milky Way doesn’t contain caramel, which makes it similar to 3 Musketeers.

According to statistics, in 2020, there was more consumption of 3 Musketeers compared to Milky Way. Around 22 million people ate 3 Musketeers, and 16.76 million consumed Milky Way.

To Conclude

  • Mars bars and Milky Way are beloved chocolate bars with subtle differences.
  • Mars bars come in British and American versions, featuring nougat and various ingredients.
  • Milky Way is a chocolate bar with nougat, caramel, and milk chocolate coating.
  • The American Mars bar includes nougat, toasted almonds, and milk chocolate.
  • Mars bars were discontinued and relaunched multiple times with slight variations.
  • Mars and Galaxy chocolate bars are different despite both being produced by Mars.
  • Galaxy offers a wide range of chocolate bars and introduced a vegan range.
  • While preferences vary, Mars bars and Milky Way are enjoyed by people of all ages for their balanced sweetness.

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