Supermarket: The Illusion of Choice

[oxmox 73]

You think you have the freedom of choice ?

These handful of corporations direct your shopping cart

You think you have the choice between products of countless producers in the supermarket? Wrong! In truth, there are just two handful of corporations that determine what ends up in your shopping cart.

What Whiskas and Twix have in common? True, both are among the leading products for a sweet tooth. But that's not enough. Even the dog food Pedigree, Snickers and Uncle Ben's Rice have something in common with the cat food brand and the double chocolate biscuit and caramel bar.

The graphical overview - see what corporations own

Infographic 1

Infographic 2 with additional brands

http://netzfrauen.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Lebensmittel1.jpg (1618 kB)

Infographic 3 updated with even more brands and newer considilations

http://dividendencashflow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/198a4-die-10-maechtigsten-lebensmittelkonzerne.png (767 kB)

Why this?

All these products belong to the same group, the Mars Incorporation from the US. The Mars Incorporation is only one of many examples of a stunningly detailed graphics.

It may be obvious that Corn Flakes and Frosted Flakes are both made by Kellogg's, but did you know that Hot Pockets and L'Oreal share a parent company in Nestlé?

A ginormous number of brands are controlled by just 10 multinationals, according to this amazing infographic from French blog Convergence Alimentaire. Now we can see just how many products are owned by Kraft, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Kellogg's, Mars, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, P&G and Nestlé.

---> It's not just the consumer goods industry that's become so consolidated. Ninety percent of the media is now controlled by just six companies, down from 50 in 1983,according to a Frugal Dad infographic from last year. Likewise, 37 banks merged to become JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and CitiGroup in a little over two decades, as seen in this 2010 graphic from Mother Jones.

The reason why there is no Coke at Pizza-Hut ?

In addition, the graphic provides interesting clues why some products do not exist in certain places: As an example Coca- Cola.

Pizza Hut is a subsidiary of Yum !,a former subsidiary of Pepsico, Coca-Cola is the fiercest competitor.

Edited March 25, 2015 by oxmox

[Tonci87 163]

I worked for Coca Cola and I can tell you that this list is not complete, by far not. Maybe this list is for the US? Since you are in Germany, guess who owns Apollinaris....just as an example.

[oxmox 73]

I worked for Coca Cola and I can tell you that this list is not complete, by far not.

You are free to add your infos, but I guess the graphical overview is at least a good start in the jungle of corporations.

Found another infographic with additional brands and the corporations behind:

http://netzfrauen.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Lebensmittel1.jpg

Its crazy how many famous german breweries is owned by Heineken.

@Tonic, Apollinaris and more brands are listed under Coca-Cola like you mentioned.

Edited March 25, 2015 by oxmox

[Tonci87 163]

Yeah, the chart illustrates a big problem. Most of the stuff you can buy in the supermarket originates from only a few giant companies.

[Rydygier 1317]

Why an illusion? I have pretty wide choice of products even if all would be provided by same producer. Unless it's only about the choice of final brand owners, I would like to make a bit richer or not, but that's marginal thing at shopping, unless I'm for some reason on the warpath with one of them.

Also - any conclusions? I mean, although I already saw this somewhere, it is interesting observation, this corpo network, if we'll be able to conclude something significant/revealing from it (maybe a single name of the actual ruler of the world behind them? :) ). Even more educative may be, if possible to monitor/view the dynamics of this economical environment. And to determine if/why it is a problem and maybe even, if so, how to prevent.

[mr burns 132]

Nothing out of the ordinary. If you want to live "clean" you buy at farms and markets. And then comes the question how "lively" you wanted your food to be ... endless rat tail.

I´m all for Star Trek economy, but sheeple have already killed small privately owned businesses in favour of supermarkets because no forethoughts are ever spent when it comes to your personal comforts.

Also - any conclusions?

It´s called diversification.

The more products are on show, the more a customer will look into bying any of it.

Also opens up possibilites for higher priced wares which effectively come out of the same factory like cheaper ones.

Some people will go for expensive items solely because they are expensive, etc. pp.

Edited March 25, 2015 by Mr Burns

[Rydygier 1317]

BTW:

The combined wealth of the 80 richest billionaires is the same amount as that of the bottom 50% of the Earth's population, Oxfam said in a new report

Oxfam source.

The combined wealth of the world’s richest 1 percent will overtake that of everyone else by next year given the current trend of rising inequality, warned relief and development organization Oxfam America today ahead of the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.

That's even more stunning fact. How would we name this?

Edited March 26, 2015 by Maio

[oxmox 73]

Yeah, the chart illustrates a big problem. Most of the stuff you can buy in the supermarket originates from only a few giant companies.

This graphic and examples about food products is only the tip of the iceberg. Two other examples in the text are about the media and banks, there is more of course.

[Rydygier 1317]

Isn't known by a chance, so 100% free market will always tend toward such state, of very few "powerhouses"? Seems kinda logical. I'm sure, I saw one day something on youtube showing very interesting mathematical visualisations on this topic, but can't find it now. :(

[ProfTournesol 956]

Less lazzy people can go to the food market and buy "real food" from there, and cook. Industrial food comes from food industry, that's not a big surprise.

[Tonci87 163]

Isn't known by a chance, so 100% free market will always tend toward such state, of very few "powerhouses"? Seems kinda logical. I'm sure, I saw one day something on youtube showing very interesting mathematical visualisations on this topic, but can't find it now. :(

Well successfull companies have a lot of money on their hands to buy other companies and expand that way. In theory there are regulations in place to prevent this, laws against monopols, but they don´t get enforced enough, especially not in the US, where the big companies also have enough money to buy politicians.

[vilas 477]

there is other problem - they kill local shops by giving bribe to local politicians to get bus stop near by and they are free from tax

in Poland probably none of those big corporations paid even single PLN of tax, our corrupted gov. simply made them free of tax

you must pay tax, they don't , so they are cheaper and you cannot competee with company that is set free from tax duty

in USA i heard that supermarkets are not in cities but in suburbs/skirts,

in Poland all supermarkets are in city center with many bus/tram lines going to them and build by ... taxpayer money

[Rydygier 1317]

Well successfull companies have a lot of money on their hands to buy other companies and expand that way.

Yes, that's "simple" positive feedback loop mechanism - money can be and are used to make more money. The general problem IMO is, we, I mean human society, are at least to some extend/on some levels governed by predictable laws of logic/mathematics and such, yet our selfcontrol on society level is as low as our selfunderstanding on this level. As we see, cause is/may be pretty simple, at least when taken synthetically, yet we're "controlled" by it and complaining, where it leads us, instead of be in control over such processes, which should be possible, as long these are comprehensible, predictable and following causality. I mean, humanity here is like sitting in the riding somewhere down the hill car, on the passanger seat leaving driving seat empty. The sooner we take driving seat, and first notice such possibility, the better for us.

[vilas 477]

in the US, where the big companies also have enough money to buy politicians.

than come and visit Poland, where supermarkets even do not obey labour work and they almost every time win in courts with employed (when you are Polish company , you may have many visits of labour safety inspectors)

come and see markets that didn't pay income taxes, come and see special bus lines organized from public money (taxes, those taxes of course are taken from Polish native local shops) to drive clients to super markets

i often buy more expensive , but i try to buy from Pole,

problem is when all local shops bankrupt and within 5 kilometers range you have only Carrr***

Edited March 25, 2015 by vilas

[Darkhorse 1-6 16]

aaaand why are you posting that image that's been discussed to death?? (both in this forum and on the internet in general) Are you trying to out-walker walker?

[Maio 293]

BTW:

Oxfam source.

That's even more stunning fact. How would we name this?

Nothing out of the ordinary? Good ol hierarchy?

[Rydygier 1317]

Nothing out of the ordinary? Good ol hierarchy?

Indeed, sadly. Just the scale of this mechanism IMHO is growing to extremes. What's sad is not, there are so rich people. It's perfectly OK, if gained their fortunes in fair way :P. Sad is, in the same time, when such people using those fortunes for eg buying old paintings for millions of petrodollars to stash them in some vault, others daily and en masse dying due to hunger or live in complete poverty. So, the fact, money tend to gather in few hands, is nothing bad. Question is, what those hands do with those money, and, most important, what they do not do. Normal - yes. Good - no.