10 companies that run the world market

10 Companies that Run the World Market 

Have you ever noticed that many products have the same parent companies even though the products are seemingly unrelated? According to a chart via Reddit, called  “The Illusion of Choice,” ten mega corporations control the output of almost everything you buy; from household products to pet food to jeans.

These corporations create a chain that begins at one of 10 super companies.The companies being:

• Unilever
• Mars
• Kelloggs
• Pepsico
• Coca Cola
• Kraft
• Nestle
• P&G
• Johnson and Johnson
• General Mills

The Chart shows a mix of networks. Parent companies may own, own shares of, or may simply partner with their branch networks. For instance, Coca Cola does not own Monster but distributes the energy drink. Yum Brands owns KFC and Taco Bell. The company was a spin-off of Pepsi. All Yum Brands restaurants sell only Pepsi products because of a special partnership with the soda-maker.

$84 billion company Proctor & Gamble — the largest advertiser in the US — is paired with a number of diverse brands that produce everything from medicine to toothpaste to high-end fashion. All tallied, P&G reportedly serves a whopping 4.8 billion people around the world through this network including Sri Lanka which is a major client market for P&G products.

$200 billion-corporation Nestle, famous for chocolate, is the biggest food company in the world and owns nearly 8,000 different brands worldwide, and takes stake in or is partnered with a swath of others. Included in this network is shampoo company L’Oreal, baby food giant Gerber, clothing brand Diesel, and pet food makers Purina and Friskies. Nestle also has a wide spread operation in Sri Lanka serving a clientele of over 10 million customers.

Unilever, of soap fame, reportedly serves 2 billion people around the world, controlling a network that produces everything from Q-tips to Skippy peanut butter. Sri Lanka too contributes to the 2 billion world market as Unilever Lanka is considered one of the single biggest companies in Sri Lanka.

Other major world companies which have a effect on the Sri Lankan economy include Coca Cola and Johnson and Johnson which was recently named the number one unlisted brand in the country. However unlike elsewhere Sri Lankan brands like Elephant House soft drinks have managed to retain a large share of the market, which goes to show that choice is there, if people choose to exercise it. After all as long as corporates play by the rules, provide valuable services gaining large share of the market is fair game.

These statistics show that everything in our world seems to be consolidated. The media is no exception to this trend with only 6 major companies dictating about 90% of the media for example, that Americans have access to. In less than 30 years the number of companies providing the US with media has dropped from 50 to just 6. The same is true in the UK, in large swathes of Europe and in Australia.