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Since 1945

We have been bringing delicious flavours to Australia’s kitchens since 1945, when Henry Lewis started MasterFoodsTM. Through his family business, Henry’s goal was to share exciting new foods and flavours with Australians.

After two successful decades, in 1967 the MasterFoodsTM brand was sold to another family business - Mars Inc - and Mars Food & Nutrition Australia was born. Like Henry, the Mars family had a vision to bring Australians exciting flavours in the kitchen and believed in the power of better food to make a better world. This is a belief that continues to guide us today.

One man’s vision

On 20 July 1945, Henry Lewis launched MasterFoodsTM and began importing foods like mustards, smoked salmon, cheese and anchovies, bringing new flavours to Australian tables.

After the war many Europeans migrated to Australia, bringing their traditional foods. Many set up small factories and Henry helped them sell their produce. At the same time, the wider Australian population was beginning to get a taste for the new flavours and foods suddenly available.

In the early 1950s the Lewis family started manufacturing. The very first MasterFoodsTM product was Bread and Butter Cucumbers followed by Roll Mops, Paprika, Mint Jelly, Lemonaid and Musto.

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A new family takes the lead

By 1965 MasterFoodsTM has become a loved Australian brand and in 1967, transitions from the Lewis family to Mars family to continue the brand they worked so hard to build and Mars Food & Nutrition Australia was born.

Throughout the 60s and 70s, new arrivals flocked to Australia, many from South East Asia, bringing new ingredients and inspiring a more adventurous appetite for flavour in Australia’s kitchens. In response, Mars Food & Nutrition Australia launched more products that have become much-loved household names:

  • 1976: Asian-inspired sauce range KANTONGTM was launched.
  • 1989: Italian-inspired sauce range ALORATM was launched, and was later renamed DOLMIOTM.
  • 1997: MasterFoodsTM launch of tomato and Barbecue sauce in a squeezy bottles. Tomato sauce in a squeezy bottle? This was a first from MasterFoodsTM, a first for sauces and a first for Australia. Hard to believe now, given the iconic place our bottle now holds.

And we never stop innovating. Did you know the MasterFoodsTM Squeeze-On® sauce packet you might use on a pie? That’s also a world first.

Now the legacy is in our hands

MasterFoodsTM is the flagship brand of Mars Food & Nutrition Australia. Our products are made in Australia at our factory on the New South Wales Central Coast and we employ more than 330 people.

We seek to make everyday meals healthier, affordable, easier and tastier. We seek to serve our communities responsibly.

Food is so much more than what we eat, and dinner time matters as a way for families to bond, laugh, talk and share. For our farmers, it’s a way to make a living. Mars Food & Nutrition is dedicated to creating better food today, and creating a better world tomorrow.