At some businesses, “eating your own dog food” is a metaphor. One company takes the saying more literally: Mars, which owns the world’s largest pet food business alongside chocolate brands from M&Ms to Milky Way, expects its managers to test the Iams, Pedigree and Royal Canin products before they leave its factories.
After 34 years with the group, and at the end of an eight-year run as chief executive, Grant Reid has eaten his fair share. One of Mars’ five guiding principles is quality, he explains: “You know, if it’s not good enough for me, then why would it be good enough for your pet?” Cesar, he reports, is his favourite brand.
That commitment to the company culture earned Reid, 63, rare public praise from the family that still controls Mars, 111 years after Frank Mars started selling butter cream candy from his kitchen in Washington state.