Mars leads the way for multi-brand commerce with D2C transformation with Valtech and commercetools

25 July – Global business transformation agency Valtech has collaborated with multi-brand FMCG organisation Mars to create the world’s most comprehensive example of composable commerce in play for multi-brand enterprises going direct-to-consumer (D2C). By transitioning to a composable commerce architecture, Mars has increased revenue by taking advantage of the solution’s fast time-to-market, flexibility, and scalability. As a result of this solution, delivered by Valtech in collaboration with the leading composable commerce platform commercetools, it has boosted incremental in-year revenue for a leading Mars Snacking D2C proposition by 20% YoY, proving how a composable approach can facilitate commerce innovation and deliver unique customer experiences across brands and channels.

Brands worldwide are looking to transition to D2C to create new revenue streams and directly build strong customer relationships through diversified experiences. This year, D2C eCommerce sales are forecasted to increase by another 15.7% in the US compared to 2022 (eMarketer) and by 25% in the UK compared to 2020 (Statista). Recognizing this opportunity, Mars selected Valtech to level up its D2C commerce model so each of its individual brands can keep pace with customer expectations regarding their shopping experiences and capitalize on new revenue opportunities at speed.

“The rise of D2C commerce has presented a highly competitive environment, where achieving brand differentiation across a variety of channels and touchpoints is now a matter of survival,” said Casper Aagaard Rasmussen, Group SVP of Technology at Valtech. “For a multi-brand enterprise as large as Mars with several potential D2C brands in its expansive portfolio, there’s an urgent need to balance differentiation with economies of scale and consistency across individual brands. These requirements need to then be combined with a high level of autonomy, which each brand needs and demands.”

Opting for a composable commerce architecture, powered by commercetools’ platform, Valtech identified and implemented a solution whereby Mars can compose, manage, and scale its desired digital capabilities across all its brands from one unified system. With the ability to spin up/down digital capabilities and switch in/out components where needed, Mars’ D2C commerce strategy transformed to become more flexible, diverse, and profitable.

“With our composable commerce platform, we now have the technology foundation to support mms.com, the largest D2C business in Mars Snacking,” said Jarid Lukin, Global Senior Director for M&M’S. “This technology not only improves our ability to offer personalized M&M’S to consumers and businesses, but it also gives us the speed and agility to launch new value propositions to celebrate those you care about in a fun and meaningful way.”

“With time-to-market paramount in a fast-moving commerce landscape, our composable commerce approach accelerated time-to-market for new experiences, thanks to a 60% increase in speed,” said Kyle Barz, Director, Global Retail & eCommerce Technology at Mars Snacking. “We were able to trade time spent on endless technology upgrades with time to innovate, freeing up our resources to drive commerce innovation. Not only did this enable our brands to deliver experiences that differentiate, but to also accelerate ROI via revenue from these improved experiences.”

“We’re seeing a trend whereby omnichannel experiences are increasing the urgency for diversified commerce strategies, which especially resonates with multi-brand businesses,” said Kelly Goetsch, Chief Strategy Officer at commercetools. “Simply put, composable provides the foundation for commerce innovation, both in the short-term and long-term as shopping experiences evolve. Mars has set the stage for how multi-brand businesses can win through composable commerce in multi-brand D2C and B2C commerce ecosystems, and we can’t wait to see how others follow suit.”

Rasmussen added: “Composable commerce is the best option to give brands in a multi-brand organization what they need to stay on top of their game. Together with Mars and commercetools, we’ve proven the possibilities of composable when delivered the right way at scale, something that has yet to be shown in the commerce industry. We’re proud to have created the world’s most comprehensive example of how a multi-brand business can implement a composable commerce approach in a marketplace driven by fast-paced technology adoption and innovation in commerce.”

The collaboration between Valtech, Mars, and commercetools led to the launch of a composable commerce accelerator for multi-brand companies. Known as ‘LEAP’, the accelerator presents a solution for multi-brand direct-to-consumer (DTC) and B2C commerce strategy as other multi-brand companies follow suit in modernizing and differentiating their customer experiences across brands and channels. Learn more about LEAP here.