How Mars Gulf built everyday support for wellbeing
2025 WINNER STORY · MARS GULF · FMCG
A colleague who needs help may turn first to a manager, a trusted peer or a confidential service. Mars Gulf’s Be Well Together campaign was designed to make each of those routes easier to use.
Its 2025 mentl awards entry describes how the business combined a network of Mental Health Champions, practical manager tools and multilingual counselling with opportunities to learn and talk about wellbeing. The work was recognised for Outstanding Well-being Support in FMCG.
The challenge: support that fits everyday working life
Mars reported that its internal pulse surveys showed demand for more help managing stress and balancing the pressures of a fast-paced FMCG environment. Its response focused on three objectives: reducing workplace risk factors for stress and burnout, encouraging open conversations, and making confidential support accessible and culturally relevant.
Be Well Together combined Mars’s global Associate Health & Well-being framework with programmes tailored to the Gulf. The approach covered daily energy and recovery, longer-term physical, mental and financial wellbeing, and a sense of purpose and growth.
Building a network people could turn to
Mars trained and certified more than 20 Mental Health Champions through International Wellbeing Insights. According to the entry, the champions provided local peer support, continued to develop their skills through periodic sessions and helped run awareness activities.
Alongside that peer network, confidential counselling was available through the Associate Assistance Program. The service operated in multiple languages and extended to associates’ families, broadening support beyond the workplace.
Giving managers practical tools
In August 2025, Mars launched a Leaders Session pilot to help managers identify when team members needed support and signpost them to resources. Huddle Cards encouraged regular mental health conversations, while an Energy & Resilience Toolkit and assessment resources aimed to build leaders’ confidence.
Digital access supported this work through an Associate Health & Well-being microsite, an Introduction to Mental Health hub and a LinkedIn Learning collection. These sat alongside in-person workshops and clinics.
Turning the programme into shared activity
Energy for Life and Resilience workshops gave associates practical tools for managing pressure. Expert mental health awareness sessions opened discussion, while Stress Awareness Month activities included mindfulness, yoga and other opportunities to engage. Mental health tips were also shared in town halls.
The programme therefore reached people through several familiar settings: conversations with a manager, a peer champion, a workshop, a digital resource or a confidential support service.
What Mars reported
59 associates took part in Energy for Life and Resilience workshops across the UAE and Saudi Arabia in June 2025.
20+ active Mental Health Champions were certified and available as local advocates and a first point of support.
The submission also reported positive feedback about greater openness to discussing wellbeing and reduced stigma, alongside Gold worksite certification. It described health and wellbeing as a driver of engagement in internal surveys.
The entry provides specific participation and delivery figures, alongside qualitative feedback. It does not give a quantified change in burnout or retention, so the clearest documented progress is the support network established, the activity delivered and the feedback reported.
What other organisations can take from it
Mars Gulf’s approach offers a practical starting point: equip managers to have conversations and signpost support; give colleagues trusted peers to approach; and make confidential help available in languages people can use.
The next step for an organisation adopting this approach is to track both participation and experience over time. Knowing how many people attended is useful. Understanding whether they can find help, feel supported and experience less pressure makes that evidence more meaningful.
Based on Mars GCC’s “Be Well Together: Redefining Workplace Well-being in FMCG” Award Force submission, pages 1–2. Programme details and results are reported by the entrant.
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