The illusion of choice

http://i.imgur.com/k0pv0.jpg

I can't help notice that Uncle Ben's is all alone, almost segregated.

I see plenty of choices when I look at that. I have never really cared about corportate ideologies when buying food or cleaning products.

Pepper makes a good point. Besides, there are plenty of local "mom & pop" brands of food that you can buy if you choose not to buy the mass produced supermarket stuff. It's more expensive of course.

Real choice becomes more limited all the time. There are 10 big companies that produce all of those items and in truth probably control the distribution of countless other items of food.

as an example....Kraft took over Cadbury's a few years back and the quality of Cadbury's products has gone down hill ever since. A Dairy Milk bar in the US is now almost indistinguisable from one in the UK ( the UK ones used to contain a lot less sugar and much more chocolate) ....which in turn is almost indistinguihable from the Allan's "chocolate" that is used in cheap easter eggs.

It's a fact of modern business. In a very large market like the US there may indeed be many smaller independent "mom & pop" brands but they are disappearing fast up here. They generally cannot compete with the economies of scale of the huge companies.

Wal-mart has started selling groceries up here and is working hard to drive the local grocers from the market. One local guy told me that he chacked a number of popular brands and Wal-mart is selling them for retail for the about the same price as he can buy them wholsale.....plus they bring in produce from 1000 miles away and sell it for less than the local guys can grow it......the quality is "ok" but it's CHEAP so people buy it

Very impressive graphic. I do what I can to buy small brands... and then sometimes see that they have bought up by a behemoth... Customer awareness is very important!

Same here, I try to buy local produce.

When I was kid we had lots of butchers and bakers etc, now its greggs etc its quite a shame really.

I noticed that my favourite cheese has changed the brand 3 times within the last 2 years or so.

definitely an excellent chart.

for the two years or so i have tried my best to buy products that can be certified to have come from a non-megacorporation like the ones in that graphic.

i tend to buy a lot of things like artisan cheeses and beers, produce grown by non government subsidized farmers, etc.

Resistance is futile... The big corporations are going to get your dollars, whatever you do...

Cheers

Nico

Now this SUCKS. British chocolate rules. Flake is the best ever. It's not so darn SWEET and it's just better than the processed sugar over here that passes for chocolate.

Miao, Cat

I wonder how old the graphic is - Dr. Pepper Snapple Group split off from Cadbury circa late 2008 - they are their own brand now (I know someone who works at DPSG).

@Cat.....you would be quite disappointed if you bought a Flakey today....they are now sweet , sickly and not at all like they were.

Who really can't tell the difference between a brand and a corporation? I mean, really, is this news to anyone?

How is A&W owned by Kraft and PepsiCo at the same time?