For nearly six decades, asking for a Snickers in a British sweet shop would have got you a blank look — because until 1990, the bar didn't exist here under that name at all. It was Marathon, and the switch to Snickers remains one of the most jarring rebrands in UK confectionery history.
One bar, two names
The peanut, caramel and nougat bar had been sold in the United States as Snickers since 1930, named after a Mars family racehorse. When Mars launched the same bar in the UK in the early 1930s, it went to market as Marathon instead, and the name stuck for British shoppers for generations.
Going global in 1990
In 1990, Mars decided to unify the bar's branding worldwide, retiring the Marathon name in the UK and Ireland in favour of Snickers. The move was purely about consistency: running one global name meant one set of packaging, one advertising campaign and simpler manufacturing, rather than maintaining Marathon as a UK-only exception to a name used almost everywhere else.
- 1930 — Snickers launches in the United States.
- Early 1930s — the same bar launches in the UK as Marathon.
- 1990 — Mars renames Marathon to Snickers across the UK, aligning it with the rest of the world.
A name that never really left
Older shoppers still ask for a "Marathon" out of habit decades later, and the rebrand is regularly cited as one of the biggest single-day identity changes any chocolate bar has been through in the UK. Unlike bars that vanished entirely, Marathon's story is really about a name disappearing while the product itself kept selling in ever-greater numbers under a new one, making it a favourite talking point among retro sweets fans.
Frequently asked questions
What was Marathon before it became Snickers?
Marathon was the UK name for the peanut, caramel and nougat bar that had been sold in the United States as Snickers since 1930.
When did Marathon become Snickers in the UK?
Mars renamed Marathon to Snickers across the UK in 1990.
Why did Mars change the name?
Mars wanted one consistent global name and packaging for the bar, simplifying international marketing and manufacturing instead of running separate branding in different markets.