Have you ever thought about the differences between a Snickers vs Milky Way? We explain the similarities and differences between these two wildly popular candy bars below. Be sure to vote for your favorite (if you have one) at the end of this article in our poll!
Ownership
Snickers and Milky Way are both owned by Mars Incorporated. The company is behind other famous brands such as 3 Musketeers, Pedigree, Skittles, Starburst, M&Ms, Twix, Dove, and Whiskas. Mars Inc. is owned by the Mars family and has notable subsidiaries in the Wrigley Company and VCA Animal Hospitals. It has annual sales of approximately $35 billion.
How They Were Named
Snickers – The candy bar was famously named after one of the favorite champion horses of Frank and Ethel Mars who were the founders of Mars. Ethel was reportedly the one who encouraged the candy bar to be named after the horse who died two months prior to the launch of Snickers in 1930.
Milky Way – Snickers, the horse, was kept at the Mars’ farm while alive. This farm was (and still is) located in Tennessee and was called the Milky Way Farm. However, the candy bar was not named after this farm. According to marschocolate.com, the candy bar was invented in 1923 and was named after a “famed malted milk” available at the time. We suspect that most people link the Milky Way candy bar to the galaxy but there is no connection. However, the candy bar is still a good snack to eat while stargazing!
Popularity
Snickers is undoubtedly the more popular of the two candy bars. Sift through just about any kid’s Halloween bag in America and you will likely notice that the number of Snickers greatly outnumber the Milky Way bars. Mars Inc. states that Snickers is the best-selling candy bar on their website.
The below data provides a bit more evidence to the popularity of Snickers over Milky Way:
According to Statista.com, a survey of 552 adults found that 46% of the participants had a Snickers over the previous three months whereas only 32% had a Milky Way over the same period.
Another survey by Statista of over 1,000 children ages 1-17 asked what candy bar they would most like to receive when trick-or-treating. 7% of the kids said Snickers while Milky Way was at or below 2%. Interestingly, Hershey’s Chocolate bar ranked on top at 15% and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups ranked 2nd at 13%.
Ingredients
Snickers – Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate, lactose, skim milk, milkfat, soy lecithin, artificial flavor), peanuts, corn syrup, sugar, skim milk, butter, milkfat, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, lactose, salt, egg whites, artificial flavor.
Milky Way – Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, skim milk, chocolate, lactose, milkfat, soy lecithin, artificial flavor), corn syrup, sugar, hydrogenated palm kernel oil and/or palm oil, skim milk, less than 2% – milkfat, cocoa powder processed with alkali, malted barley, lactose, salt, egg whites, chocolate, artificial flavor.
The shared ingredients of these two candy bars are milk chocolate, corn syrup, sugar, skim milk, milkfat, lactose, salt, and egg whites.
The features of a Milky Way as described on the packaging are rich chocolate, creamy caramel, and smooth nougat. A Snickers is milk chocolate, peanuts, caramel, and nougat. The addition of peanuts in a Snickers is what primarily sets it apart from a Milky Way.
Nutrition Facts
So, when most people eat a candy bar, they are not thinking about nutrition. As we stated in our article on Snickers vs Baby Ruth, it is safe to say that most people aren’t eating a Snickers or Milky Way thinking they are eating healthy. However, let’s take a look at the nutrition facts anyway to see if one is noticeably “more nutritious” than the other.
| Snickers (Original) | Milky Way | |
| Size | 1 Bar (1.86 oz) | 1 Bar (1.84 oz) |
| Calories | 250 | 240 |
| Total Fat | 12g | 9g |
| Saturated Fat | 4.5g | 6g |
| Trans Fat | 0g | 0g |
| Cholesterol | 5mg | 5mg |
| Sodium | 125mg | 70mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 32g | 37g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1g | 1g |
| Sugars | 26g | 32g |
| Protein | 4g | 2g |
There are not any major differences between these candy bars based on their nutrition facts. The peanuts in Snickers help contribute to it having higher calories, total fat, and protein. Overall, most people likely aren’t going to select one of these candy bars over the other simply for better nutrition.
Poll: Snickers vs Milky Way
Let us know in the poll below whether you prefer Snickers, Milky Way, neither, or you if you don’t care for either.
Sources:
Milky Way Image – Willis Lam/flickr
Snickers Image – Bodo/flickr