Mars Wrigley breaks ground on Chicago innovation hub

Expansion will bring 30 more jobs to Goose Island campus.

Mars Wrigley and Chicago leadership break ground on the company's global research and development hub on Goose Island on June 16, 2022. Photo by Alyse Thompson.

Mars Wrigley broke ground for its global research and development hub on its campus on Chicago’s Goose Island Thursday.

The expansion, announced in April, will make the facility the largest innovation hub for Mars Wrigley globally and will create 30 new jobs, bringing the campus’ total to 980. The company has more than 2,000 associates throughout the Chicago area and Illinois, noted Andrew Clarke, global president of Mars Wrigley.

“Innovation is very much at the heart of everything we strive to do with our global brands,” Clarke said during the ceremony. “We really want to be at the forefront of consumer trends all of the time, and a lot of that magic happens here on this site.”

The facility will include a new pilot plant, as well as an updated packaging innovation center, said Chris Rowe, global VP R&D. Construction is set to begin this summer, with completion slated for summer 2023.

“The investment is going to continue to foster the hands-on innovation culture that we believe is essential to servicing our consumers, and it’s going to help us develop that next generation of products that billions of people around the world are going to enjoy,” Rowe said.

This story will be updated.

Alyse Thompson has held many positions with BNP Media, first serving as an intern at Candy Industry Magazine in summer 2012. She joined Candy Industry's staff full time as associate editor in August 2016 after a few years at newspapers in West-Central Illinois, becoming managing editor in March 2019. Alyse has also served as managing editor of Cannabis Products Magazine since March 2019. She has bachelor’s degrees in journalism and Spanish from Western Illinois University.