Mars has announced the return of the beloved Marathon chocolate bar to British supermarket shelves – and it will be kosher.
After arriving in the UK in 1968 as the Marathon bar, the nutty sweet treat was renamed in a shock rebrand to Snickers in 1990, much to the dismay of its fans.
Now, Mars is catering to our nostalgia for retro sweets with the release of a special “Marathon retro edition”.
The bar will be available exclusively at Morrisons stores until December, as part of a limited time offering to mark 90 years of Mars chocolate manufacturing in the UK.
The return of the Marathon bar is not without precedent. In 2019, a similar re-release of the retro chocolate saw more than four million bars sold within 12 weeks.
The regular Snickers’ ingredients – consisting of mouthwatering nougat, peanuts, and caramel with a chocolate coating – will remain untouched in the new range, as will its KLBD certification.
Marathon made its debut appearance in KLBD’s Kosher Nosh Guide in 1988, and Snickers has been proudly bearing the KLBD logo since 2009.
Rabbi Elie Schoemann, director of KLBD, spoke for many as he celebrated the revival of the nostalgic snack. “The chocolate of many people's childhood is back!” he said.
“KLBD has certified many treats made by Mars for 15 years now in our ongoing quest to make keeping kosher even easier, wherever you live across the country.
“May the revived Marathon bars contribute to a sweet new year for all of us.”
The first Snickers bar was manufactured by Mars in 1930 in Chicago and was supposedly named after the confectionery company’s family horse.
Thirty-eight years later, it hit UK shelves as the Marathon bar, becoming a favourite among chocolate lovers.
But in 1990, the company decided to give the UK product the same name as its American iteration as part of a rebranding strategy to streamline Mars’ identity.
“We’re excited to bring back the Marathon bar, branding for a limited period,” said the senior brand manager of Mars, Steve Water. “It’s a great way to celebrate over 90 years of Mars making chocolate in the UK.”
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