Mars candy company invests in a different sort of bar: Kind

Candy giant Mars (which manufactures Snickers and M&M’s, among other drugstore confectionary staples) is investing beyond the traditional candy bar: The company just bought a minority stake in Kind, the healthy fruit and nut protein snack brand, The New York Times reports. The deal is a testament to the rise of the health-conscious consumer and is just the latest example of mega corporations taking a stake in healthy indie companies, like mineral water, coffee, and protein bar brands.

The deal will help Kind expand into other healthy-food categories over the next few years as well as amp up production to expand its international footprint, The New York Times reports.

Kind has come a long way since the Food and Drug Administration tried to censor the company from using the term “healthy” on its packaging. In 2015, the FDA reprimanded Kind for its health signage due to a large quantity of (healthy) fats in the bars. Long story short, the government agency ended up backpedaling, and the whole ordeal hardly curbed Kind’s grocery-aisle takeover. It’s continued on a path toward bar domination and is now valued at $4 billion, The Times reports.

Kind is currently the third-biggest snack-bar company in the world, and this investment from a mainstay, traditional food corporation shows that eating transparently produced and good-for-your food is way more than a fleeting trend—it’s now a major priority. According to the Times, the deal will help Kind expand into other healthy-food categories over the next few years as well as amp up production to expand its international footprint.

Since major corporations have been trying to keep up with the increasingly health-conscious and informed consumer, who knows? Maybe 2018 will be the year we see a brick-and-mortar Kind juice and snack shop (à la Moon Juice).

Take a peek inside Kind Bar founder, Daniel Lubetzky’s fridge and here’s how (and why) to DIY your granola bars.