The chocolate wars - Jol Glenn Brenner

After eight years of investigation, the first ever account of two of the leviathans of a multi-billion dollar industry penetrates the secretive and cut-throat world of chocolate.

Mars Inc is a multinational, multibillion-dollar empire. Bigger than such corporate giants as McDonald's and Kellogg, it has 18% of the UK confectionary market led by its most famous eponymous chocolate bar.

Hershey, now its main rival, was once a close ally but after the split Hershey built its success by stealing top executives away from Mars. Now Hershey is suing Mars in federal court, claiming that they have illegally copied the packaging of Hershey's famous Reese's Peices for use on Peanut Butter M&Ms.

Since Mars was founded in 1922 by Frank Mars, the family have amassed a fortune reputed to be worth $12.5 billion - the 5th largest in the world. Hershey is now owned by a charitable trust whose profits fund the wealthiest orphanage in the world.

Mars is now run by Frank's two grandsons and the family values, precepts and eccentricities permeate every aspect of the business. A pinhole in a Snickers is cause enough to destroy an entire production run and until now employees had been forbidden to talk about their work to outsiders.

The CIA once prepared a special report on the Soviet chocolate market for Mars, in violation of its own politics, while in the 1940's and 50's Hershey sold chocolate extracts to pep up Coca Cola and improve the flavour of cigarettes.

Never before has there been a detailed account of life behind the previously closed corporate doors of these giants of chocolate, where industrial espionage and covert operations are favourite weapons in the battle for market share