A handful of companies control almost everything we buy — and beer is the latest victim

A small number of companies control almost everything Americans buy.

From food to fashion to beer, choice is more often than not simply an illusion. Brands that seem to share nothing in common, like Gerber baby food and Hot Pockets, are often actually owned by the same company (in this case, Nestlé).

As a result, a handful of multibillion-dollar companies control everything from what we eat to how we dress.

Here are some charts that show how the "illusion of choice" has become an unavoidable reality for the modern American shopper.

10 companies control almost everything we eat.

Oxfam created this mind-boggling infographic that shows how interconnected these consumer brands really are.

Nestlé, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Danone, General Mills, Kellogg's, Mars, Associated British Foods, and Mondelez each employ thousands and make billions of dollars in revenue every year.

7 companies own the vast majority of popular beauty brands

A whopping 182 beauty brands fall under the massive umbrellas of seven huge manufacturers: Estée Lauder Companies, L'Oréal, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Shiseido, Johnson and Johnson, and Coty.

As a result, these conglomerates control the vast majority of the industry's advertising in the US, essentially dictating how the country understands beauty.

The clothing industry is dominated by 10 companies

A 2015 Morgan Stanley report found that 10 companies controlled 41% of the clothing market. No other retailer had more than 2% of market share.

The retailers dominating the market were Walmart, T.J. Maxx, Macy's, Gap, Kohl's, Target, Ross Stores, Amazon, Nordstrom, and J.C. Penney.

A single beer giant makes up most of the world's beer sales

AB InBev — the maker of brands including Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois — and SABMiller — which makes brands like Fosters, Peroni, Miller, and Grolsch — are responsible for the majority of sales in the beer industry. And, in 2016, the two companies merged.

According to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch chart, in 2014 AB InBev and SABMiller alone controlled about 58% of the beer industry's $33 billion in global profits.

By: Kate Taylor

Fonte:http://uk.businessinsider.com/companies-control-everything-we-buy-2017-8?nr_email_referer=1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_content=BISelect&pt=385758&ct=Sailthru_BI_Newsletters&mt=8&utm_campaign=BI%20Select%20%28Tuesday%20Thursday%29%202017-08-24&utm_term=Business%20Insider%20Select%20-%20Engaged%2C%20Active%2C%20Passive%2C%20Disengaged&r=US&IR=T

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