The Illusion of Choice

[Nathan]

This is crazy...

 

10 companies in the US control almost 100% of the "choices" that we have when it comes to consumer products. We feel that we have a choice, but we really don’t.

 

This is a cool example at how massively successful "house of brands" can become.

[CHiLL]

It is shocking to see, but to be honest I'm not surprised. Conglomerates just buy up everything.

[Thomas]

Think about Fast Food? KFC, Pizza Hut, Long John Silvers and Papa Johns (i think i'm missing one) are all run by the same Compnay: Yum Internation

[Nathan]

Ah thought Pepsi owned all of them at one time, maybe that's who owns Pepsi.

Edited May 3, 2012 by Nathan

[Thomas]

Pepsi is a company in it's own right although Pepsi and Yum International have a lifetime contact to supply there stores with Pepsi (except a few stores in the USA that were surviving Coke before all this came about)

[SpikeTheLobster]

Years ago, I used to work for a company that did some IT training at a Unilever site on the edge of London. I remember their site shop was awesome because they had the company's products on discount and we were allowed to pick stuff up because we were contracting with them (and because they liked us). The first time I walked through the shop, I was stunned at how many different brands (many of which produce the same thing) were available - all owned by Unilever.

 

More often than not, you wouldn't even notice they owned it unless you read the tiny, tiny little trademark info on the back somewhere. Incredible how big companies just keep getting bigger and bigger.

 

The other thing I remember is the awful smell when they were cleaning the fish oil tanks (gasometer sized ones) and the wind was blowing the wrong way.... ewwwww.