National Milky Way Day

Frank C. Mars moved his fledgling candy company from Washington to Minneapolis in 1920. By 1922, it was in a new building in the North Loop neighborhood and producing the Mar-O-Bar. Known as the Mar-O-Bar Company, it later would become Mars, Incorporated. It made the Milky Way candy bar in 1923 and introduced it nationally the following year. This candy bar is celebrated today with National Milky Way Day.

The Milky Way has a malted milk nougat filling that is topped with caramel and then covered with chocolate. Part of the appeal of Mars was it was lighter and cheaper to make than a solid chocolate bar. At the time, Mars bought raw chocolate to make the bar from the Hershey Company, a competitor based in Pennsylvania.

Forrest Mars, Sr., the son of Frank C. Mars, claimed to have come up with the name for the candy bar. Even though the company was named Mars, the name "Milky Way" didn't have to do with the cosmos, but took its name from—and was inspired by—a popular malted milkshake being sold at soda fountains at the time. Naturally, the Milky Way was advertised as being "a double malted milk in a candy bar." The Milky Way brought the company great success. There were $800,000 worth of Milky Way sales in the candy bar's first year, the equivalent of close to $15,000,000 in 2025.

Milky Way is the oldest Mars brand candy bar on the market. The company moved to Chicago in 1929 and went on to create other iconic candies such as Snickers and M&M's. By the time of the move to Chicago, Milky Way was the most popular candy bar in the United States, and it remains one of the most popular and iconic today.

There are actually two versions of the Milky Way. The Milky Way known in the United States is sold as the Mars bar around the world, while the global Milky Way bar is similar to the American 3 Musketeers bar and doesn't have the caramel topping. There also have been a number of variations besides the original Milky Way, such as Milky Way Midnight (previously Milky Way Dark) and Milky Way Cookie Dough. The original Milky Way and its variations are celebrated and enjoyed today on National Milky Way Day!

How to Observe National Milky Way Day

• Get yourself some Milky Way bars! Try the original or a variation.
• Enjoy some Milky Way ice cream bars.
• Make your own Milky Way bars.
• Use Milky Way bars to make a cake, brownies, cookies, or fudge.
• Visit the location where the Milky Way bar got its start.

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