New ice creams from Mars

Mars, one of the most successful and well-known brands in confectionary, has unveiled plans to invest heavily in new product development.

Whilst Mars is well known for its Mars Bar, it also has a majority share in the ice cream market. Its latest NPD initiatives plan to launch two new ice creams for summer 2011 - the Milky Way Magic Stars ice cream and the M&Ms cone.

The new initiatives follow success of both Milky Way Magic Stars and M&Ms in the confectionary market, and also the success of the Mars ice cream and the Snickers ice cream.

Whilst the new product are expected to appeal to families and children, the low calorie content of the product - less that 70kcal - is likely to appeal to another audience of weight conscious consumers.

In a decade of retro adverts, the brand is reviving the 1980s red car blue car advert that it hopes many consumers will remember.

In addition to these new launches, the Twix ice cream is also having a revamp and will be launched in time for summer too.