Man who bought ultra-rare smooth Mars bar awarded £2 compensation
A man has been awarded £2 in compensation after discovering a rare Mars bar missing its signature ripple—though the manufacturer has reportedly declined to explain the defect.
Members of the Dull Men’s Club Facebook page, which boasts 1.4 million followers, have debated possible reasons behind the unusual chocolate bar unwrapped by 34-year-old Harry Seager, who purchased it from a motorway service station.
The content handling specialist said he wasn’t particularly bothered by the defect but was curious to understand how it happened.
But after contacting Mars Wrigley UK, he was left none the wiser—though he did receive vouchers worth enough to buy two more (hopefully flawless) bars. A happy ending, if not an entirely satisfying one.
“The only reason I emailed [Mars] was because I was interested in what might have caused it to happen. That is all I wanted to know and they kept side-lining that question,” he told the BBC.
“I think £2 is great, it will be two free Mars bars. Maybe they could have sent me more but I’m not being ungrateful. I think it’s amazing after everything that’s happened that I got the £2 voucher.”
Mr Seager said that he had been on his way to a classic car event in Birmingham from his home in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, when the rare find happened.
Man who found smooth Mars bar gets £2 compensation
https://t.co/ajNsNdwfFp— Citizen Report 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@CitizenReportHQ) November 30, 2024
“A few people who used to work at Mars’ factories commented [on Facebook] and they said it goes through a machine called an enrober, which is like the waterfall the bars go through," Mr Seager added.
“Apparently they get blown with air along the top as it comes out of that waterfall. Apparently there’s meant to be somebody at the end who removes the ones which haven’t been hit by the air.
“I don’t know what happens to them then. I suppose they got put into products that have Mars bars in, like cakes and things.”
A Mars Wrigley UK spokesperson said: “Our chocolate scientists have been perfecting the Mars Bar and its iconic swirl on top for over 90 years.
“With over 2.5 million Mars Bars produced daily at our Slough factory it seems this has slipped through without its signature flourish!
“While we can't reveal all the secrets behind our product line, we can promise fans that these ‘smooth’ Mars Bars are a rare find and the classic swirl isn’t going away!”