The illusion of choice convinces humans that they have control over their own actions. The illusion may exist in the likeliest places such as advertising and marketing, but even in the unlikeliest places such as the food we buy at the supermarket, or even the very place that we do these purchases at. From food brands to supermarket names, our “choices” may actually not be a choice but rather an inevitable result.

PepsiCo

PepsiCo is one of the largest food and beverage companies in the United States. Founded in 1965, the almost 60 year old company has products in supermarkets in more than 200 countries and has a 21% share of the carbonated soft drink market worldwide. The colossal company owns some of the most notable, everyday brands that may seem like competitive rivals pitted up against one another, but in reality, they belong to the same family and all profits go to the same corporation. To give perspective on how major this company is, here are some of the most popular brands they own: Quaker Oats, Tropicana, Naked Juice, Gatorade, Cheetos, Lays, Doritos, Starbucks bottle beverages, Lipton, Sierra Mist, and Mountain Dew, to name several. Each of these brands may generate up to one billion dollars in annual retail sales each. Then, all of their profits feed into one mega-company: PepsiCo. 

Nestle

Another widely recognized food brand may be a bit more familiar to younger generations – Nestle. Upon hearing the word, one may be reminded of the chocolate that frequently shows up in our halloween baskets. They might, however, actually control a significant portion of your pantry! From the drink category, some of their most famous brands include: Arrowhead, Poland Spring, Perrier, Nestle Pure Life, Nesquik, and Nespresso. Following in candy, KitKat, Smarties, Nestle TollHouse, and Yorkie are among the some 100 owned brands. The monopoly doesn’t end here; their owned food labels include Digiorno, Hot Pockets, Lean Cuisine, Life Cuisine, California Pizza Kitchen, Dreyer’s, and Häaggen-Dazs, as well as pet brands such as Friskies, Purina, and Fancy Feast. As of April 2023, Nestle’s net worth stands at $355.99 billion. This places Nestle as the world’s number one food company to date. 

As we pick and choose the food brands we enjoy at the grocery store,  the thought that our money is dispersed in the market to different corporations may be common in every-day people. However, buying from multiple brands or even competing brands such as Dreyer’s and Häagen-Dazs puts money into the pocket of the same company! As these food brands play monopoly, they convince the general public that we have free will over our choices. “I didn’t realize how many brands were actually owned by the same company,” Grace Peng (9) confesses, “its crazy to think that when I am choosing a specific brand for a food, it wouldn’t actually matter because they are all owned by the same company!”