The Partnership
Mars, Incorporated has locked in Cheez-It, Pringles, Club, Town House and Combos as the Official Salty Snacks Providers and Proud Supporters of the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Team USA, the company confirmed November 9. The deal also extends to NBCUniversal's multiplatform coverage of the Games, giving the portfolio a broad media footprint as countdown marketing heats up over the next two years.
Cheez-It and Pringles will serve as the lead brands in activations spanning the Games ecosystem — reaching athletes, volunteers, the Olympic family and fans watching from home. The partnership marks one of the first major branded-snack alliances tied to LA28, which is scheduled to open in the summer of 2028 in Los Angeles.
What It Means for the Salty Aisle
For convenience retailers, the deal represents a substantial promotional tailwind for one of the channel's highest-velocity snack categories. Salty snacks consistently rank among the top inside-sales contributors at the forecourt, and multi-year sponsorship campaigns of this scale typically translate into incremental display programs, limited-edition packaging, and co-branded point-of-sale materials that drive basket size in the months leading up to a Games.
"We're proud to bring Cheez-It and Pringles to the LA28 Games, giving fans more ways to celebrate every kind of greatness that make the Games so meaningful," said Anton Vincent, President of Mars Snacking North America. The NBCUniversal layer adds a broadcast and streaming amplification channel — including NBC, Peacock and Telemundo — that extends brand impressions well beyond in-venue placements.
Mars Snacking's salty portfolio is part of the broader combined Mars and Kellanova business, which the company pegs at more than $65 billion in net sales following the Kellanova acquisition. Cheez-It and Pringles were both legacy Kellanova brands that are now being activated under the Mars Snacking umbrella, making this sponsorship one of the first high-visibility deployments of that combined portfolio.
Operator Takeaway
For single-store operators and regional chains alike, an Olympics-linked marketing cycle of this duration is worth building into planogram and promotional calendars early. Category managers should expect Mars Snacking field teams to bring LA28-branded secondary placement proposals and cross-promotion tie-ins — particularly around the NBCUniversal media push — ahead of the 2028 opening ceremonies. Retailers that have executed well on World Cup and Super Bowl snack promotions have consistently seen lift in adjacent impulse categories including dispensed beverage and packaged cold drinks, suggesting a halo effect worth planning for.
John Slusher, CEO of U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Properties, framed the fit plainly: "Nothing brings people together like incredible athletic moments and great snacks." That positioning aligns directly with the c-store convenience occasion — a quick stop, a familiar brand, a moment of shared anticipation.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
