Every company has a story.

Learn the playbooks that built the world’s greatest companies — and how you can apply them as a founder, operator, or investor.

M&M’s, Snickers, Milky Way, Double Mint, Ben’s Rice, Pedigree, Whiskas, VCA, Banfield… all the brands you know, owned by the company you know nothing about: Mars, Incorporated. And Mars itself is 100% owned and deeply intertwined with the Mars family, who are currently the second wealthiest (and perhaps first most secretive!) family in the United States. Tune in for one of the 20th century’s most incredible entrepreneurial stories across candy and pet care, and one that’s all the more incredible because it’s so little-known!Sponsors:Many thanks to our fantastic Fall ‘24 Season partners:<ul><li><a href="https://bit.ly/acquiredJPMPF245pod">J.P. Morgan Payments</a></li><li><a href="https://bit.ly/acquiredcrusoefall24">Crusoe</a></li><li><a href="https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig24">Statsig</a></li></ul>Links:<ul><li>Hershey’s M&M response: <a href="https://shop.hersheys.com/holiday/sweet-treats/032284016385.html">Hershey-ets</a></li><li>Our past episodes on <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/berkshire-hathaway-part-i">Berkshire Hathaway</a>, <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/lvmh">LVMH</a>, and <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/novo-nordisk-ozempic">Novo Nordisk</a></li><li><a href="https://worldlypartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Mars-Inc.pdf">Worldly Partners Multi-Decade Mars Study</a></li><li><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1saoPN-Scw7bcyf4nbNNY10Ek5GuVwQep6eIq0-bAK6U/edit?usp=sharing">Episode sources</a></li></ul>Carve Outs:<ul><li><a href="https://www.dandelionchocolate.com">Dandelion Chocolate</a> and the <a href="https://www.dandelionchocolate.com/products/2025-advent-calendar-preorder">Dandelion Advent Calendar</a></li><li><a href="https://ts.la/ben11770">Tesla Model Y</a> + repair service</li><li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14688458/">Silo</a></li><li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099785/">Home Alone</a></li></ul> More Acquired:<ul><li><a href="https://www.acquired.fm/email">Get email updates</a> with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes</li><li><a href="http://acquired.fm/slack">Join the Slack</a></li><li><a href="https://pod.link/acquiredlp">Subscribe to ACQ2</a></li><li>Check out the latest swag <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/store">in the ACQ Merch Store</a>!</li></ul>‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

Acquired

Mars Inc. (the chocolate story)

IKEA may be the most singular company we’ve ever studied on Acquired. They’re a globally scaled, $50B annual revenue company with no direct competitors — yet have only ~5% market share. They’re one of the largest retailers in the world — yet sell only their own products. They generate a few billion in free cash flow every year — yet have no shareholders. And oh yeah, they also sell hot dogs cheaper than Costco! (Sort of.)Tune in for an episode flat-packed with counterintuitive lessons about how this folksy mail order business from the Swedish countryside came into your living rooms (and bedrooms and dining rooms and kitchens and bathrooms and patios and garages and backyards) all over the globe!Sponsors:Many thanks to our fantastic Fall ‘24 Season partners:<ul><li><a href="https://bit.ly/acquiredJPMPF244pod">J.P. Morgan Payments</a></li><li><a href="https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig24">Statsig</a></li><li><a href="https://bit.ly/acquiredcrusoefall24">Crusoe</a></li></ul>Links:<ul><li>Please take our <a href="http://acquired.fm/survey">2024 Acquired Survey</a> if you have a minute. It'd mean the world to us!</li><li><a href="https://www.inter.ikea.com/en/-/media/InterIKEA/IGI/Financial%20Reports/English_The_testament_of_a_dealer_2018.pdf">The Testament of a Furniture Dealer</a></li><li>Our past episodes on <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/costco">Costco</a>, <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/walmart">Walmart</a>, <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/amazon-com">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/lvmh">LVMH</a> and <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/hermes">Hermès</a></li><li><a href="https://worldlypartners.com/businesshistory">Worldly Partners Multi-Decade IKEA Study</a></li><li><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K_E4J8aDElUg49R4lwytlI5qjalami5rVieJuVktVtY/edit?usp=sharing">Episode sources</a></li></ul>Carve Outs:<ul><li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4779762/">Detroiters</a></li><li><a href="https://www.apple.com/ipad-pro/">The 11-inch iPad Pro</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/theqbschool">The QB School</a></li><li><a href="https://youtu.be/C-Cv9z86cOE?si=lknKUOgzst4HTW2X">Ice Cube at the World Series</a></li></ul>More Acquired:<ul><li><a href="https://www.acquired.fm/email">Get email updates</a> with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes</li><li><a href="http://acquired.fm/slack">Join the Slack</a></li><li><a href="https://pod.link/acquiredlp">Subscribe to ACQ2</a></li><li>Check out the latest swag <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/store">in the ACQ Merch Store</a>!</li></ul>‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

IKEA

Meta is a company everyone knows (literally, everyone). But, somehow, it’s also a company that few people feel they actually understand. Their products are used by more humans than any other’s in history — almost half of the entire world’s population daily. But… what is Meta? Why do they do what they do? How do they do what they do? Ask ten people and you’ll likely get ten very different sets of answers.Today, we dive deeper than we’ve ever gone trying to find Acquired’s answers to those questions. And after months of research and 6+ hours of incredible stories about how they (and really “they” being Mark himself) bet it all and win time and time again in the face of overwhelming odds, we arrive at our answers. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads, AI, Oculus, Orion, it’s all here. Tune in for one of the greatest corporate stories of all time: Meta, a Mark Zuckerberg Production.Sponsors:Many thanks to our fantastic Fall ‘24 Season partners:<ul><li><a href="https://bit.ly/acquiredJPMPF243pod">J.P. Morgan Payments</a></li><li><a href="https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig24">Statsig</a></li><li><a href="https://bit.ly/acquiredcrusoefall24">Crusoe</a></li><li><a href="https://bit.ly/acqhuntress">Huntress</a></li></ul>Links:<ul><li>Please take our <a href="https://acquired.fm/survey">2024 Acquired Survey</a> if you have a minute. It'd mean the world to us! <a href="https://acquired.fm/survey">https://acquired.fm/survey</a></li><li>Our past episodes on <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/episode-2-instagram">Instagram</a>, <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/whatsapp">WhatsApp</a>, <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/episode-35-oculus">Oculus</a>, <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/episode-12-snapchat">Snapchat</a>, <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/episode-32-the-snap-inc-ipo">the Snap IPO</a>, <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/tiktok">TikTok</a>, <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/nvidia-the-gpu-company-1993-2006">NVIDIA</a>, <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/microsoft">Microsoft</a>, and <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/episodes/the-mark-zuckerberg-interview">the Mark Zuckerberg Interview</a></li><li><a href="https://worldlypartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Meta-Platforms-1.pdf">Worldly Partners: Meta multi-decade study</a></li><li><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WpAkeS83tKDhFbGAE_Ifov7FjXaVognwEvClaMXzJZ8/edit?usp=sharing">Episode sources</a></li></ul>Carve Outs:<ul><li><a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/google-notebooklm-ai-podcast-deep-dive-audio-c30a06b3">Ben Cohen’s piece on NotebookLM</a></li><li><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33301469/">Mr. McMahon</a></li><li><a href="https://www.dwarkeshpatel.com">The Dwarkesh Podcast</a></li></ul>More Acquired:<ul><li><a href="https://www.acquired.fm/email">Get email updates</a> with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes</li><li><a href="http://acquired.fm/slack">Join the Slack</a></li><li><a href="https://pod.link/acquiredlp">Subscribe to ACQ2</a></li><li>Check out the latest swag <a href="https://www.acquired.fm/store">in the ACQ Merch Store</a>!</li></ul>‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.

Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal

Acquired by Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal

Episodes