Prashant Peres steps into his new role as General Manager, India – Mars Snacking, assuming leadership at a moment of rare strategic convergence. The role places him at the helm of the combined Mars and Kellanova snacking businesses in India, following the completion of one of the most consequential transactions in the global food industry.
On December 11, 2025, Mars, Incorporated formally completed its acquisition of Kellanova, uniting two iconic portfolios to create what Mars has described as a new chapter in the future of snacking. For India—one of the world’s fastest-growing packaged food markets—the integration represents both scale and strategic depth, with Prashant Peres tasked with shaping the next phase of growth.
A Career Defined by Category Leadership and Turnarounds
Peres brings to the role a career spanning more than two decades across foods, confectionery, beverages and personal care, with leadership responsibilities across India, South Asia, Southeast Asia, China, Africa, the Middle East and ANZ. Known for delivering market-leading growth and category turnarounds, he has built a reputation as a P&L leader who combines brand strategy with route-to-market execution and digital transformation.
Immediately prior to the Mars role, Peres served as Managing Director, South Asia at Kellanova, and earlier at Kellogg Company, where he led the cereals and snacking business through a period of transition and repositioning. His tenure gave him deep familiarity with brands such as Pringles, Cheez-It, Pop-Tarts, Rice Krispies Treats and Kellogg’s international cereal portfolio, as well as the operational realities of scaling global brands in complex emerging markets.
Before Kellogg’s and Kellanova, Peres spent over eight years at Mondelēz International, including as President & Managing Director, Indonesia, and earlier as Director, Chocolates India. In India, he led the Cadbury chocolates business through its fastest-ever top- and bottom-line growth globally, expanding Cadbury’s market share to over two-thirds of India’s $1.3 billion chocolate category—a performance that remains a benchmark in Indian FMCG.
His earlier career at Unilever, spanning more than 15 years, saw him lead some of the company’s most iconic portfolios. As Regional Vice President, Foods South Asia, he oversaw brands such as Kissan, Knorr and Blue Band, while earlier roles included leadership of Unilever’s soaps portfolio across South Asia—Lux, Dove, Lifebuoy, Pears, Hamam and Rexona—and regional roles across Africa, the Middle East and Turkey. This breadth has given Peres rare cross-category fluency, from staples to indulgence-led snacking.
The Mars–Kellanova Deal: Creating a New Snacking Powerhouse
The acquisition of Kellanova by Mars brings together two businesses with more than a century of brand-building heritage. With the transaction receiving shareholder approval in November 2024 and final regulatory clearances by December 8, 2025, the deal formally closed on December 11, creating a significantly expanded Mars Snacking platform.
Globally, the combined Mars Snacking portfolio now includes billion-dollar brands such as SNICKERS, M&M’S, TWIX, DOVE, SKITTLES, and EXTRA, alongside Pringles, Cheez-It, and Kellogg’s, with additional scale coming from brands like KIND, Nature’s Bakery, RXBAR, Nutri-Grain bars, and Special K bars through Mars Snacking’s Accelerator division. Mars Snacking now operates with more than 50,000 associates worldwide, positioning it as one of the most influential players in global snacking.
Mars has described the integration as a move to “shape the future of snacking,” combining complementary capabilities, category strengths, and innovation pipelines while continuing to invest in sustainability and long-term growth.
India at the Centre of the Growth Agenda
For India, the integration significantly elevates the scale and strategic importance of the snacking business. Under Peres’s leadership, the combined Mars–Kellanova portfolio brings together confectionery, salty snacks, cereals, bars, and better-for-you offerings, giving the business presence across multiple consumption occasions—from indulgence-led treats to everyday breakfast and on-the-go snacking.
India presents both opportunity and complexity. It is a high-growth market with increasing premiumisation, evolving food habits, and rapid modern trade and e-commerce expansion, but also one that demands strong execution, local relevance, and affordability. In his LinkedIn announcement, Peres described the role as an opportunity to build a “truly unique organisation,” combining strong brands, deep capabilities, and exceptional teams to drive category growth in a market that “demands excellence to compete.”
His familiarity with both organisations—having led Kellanova in South Asia and now transitioning into Mars—gives him a unique vantage point to integrate cultures, portfolios, and go-to-market strategies in a way that preserves brand equity while unlocking synergies.
Shaping the Next Phase of Snacking
Peres’s mandate goes beyond integration. It involves shaping how global snacking brands win in India’s rapidly changing food landscape—one defined by sharper price-value equations, digital-first consumers, health-conscious choices alongside indulgence, and increasingly fragmented channels.
For the Business of Food ecosystem, the Mars–Kellanova combination under Peres’s leadership will be closely watched as a test case for how global food giants can successfully integrate portfolios while staying locally relevant. The coming years will reveal how the combined business balances scale with agility, legacy brands with innovation, and global power with Indian nuance.
As Mars Snacking enters this new chapter, India stands not just as a growth market, but as a proving ground for the future of snacking—one that Prashant Peres is now tasked with leading.
