Misc

The Illusion of Choice in Consumer Brands

Published

8 years ago

July 21, 2016

Jeff Desjardins

The Illusion of Choice in Consumer Brands

Explore the full-size version of the above graphic in all its glory.

If today’s infographic looks familiar, that’s because it originates from a well-circulated report that Oxfam International puts together to show consolidation in the mass consumer goods industry.

We are sharing it because we believe it is important for you to be aware of who is supplying the different brands and goods served on your dinner table.

Unlikely Links

The illusion of choice does not arise from the products we expect the companies to sell. We inherently know that PepsiCo sells plenty of beverages, including its flagship product. We know that Nestlé makes Kit Kat, Nesquick chocolate syrup, Nespresso coffee machines, and Nescafé instant coffee.

What is less obvious is that Nestlé makes Gerber baby food, Hot Pockets, DiGiorno pizzas, and Stouffer brand frozen foods. Nestlé even owns two competing brands of fancy, carbonated water: San Pellegrino and Perrier.

In fact, Nestlé has at least 29 brands with annual sales over $1 billion. The company literally has hundreds of different products in sectors ranging from pet food to soups and sauces. It’s the world’s largest food company by revenues, and it’s worth a whopping $240 billion in market capitalization.

They Might Be Giants

It’s not just Nestlé that is mind-boggling in size and scope.

Other companies such as Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s, Mondelēz, PepsiCo, General Mills, Danone, and Mars are also massive. They each own dozens of brands that dominate certain product categories.

Want to buy crackers? Pick up some Ritz, Triscuits, Wheat Thins, Air Crisps, or Premium brand crackers – but know they are all owned by Mondelēz (formerly Kraft Foods).

Buying a chocolate bar? There are seemingly hundreds to choose from, but its just the illusion of choice. They pretty much all come from Mars, Nestlé, or Mondelēz (which owns Cadbury).

There’s nothing wrong in buying from these brands, but remember that each dollar of your money is a vote. Vote for products and companies you believe in!

Note: the above graphic is about 1.5 years old, and it misses recent acquisitions or changes in brand ownership. For example, Power Bar is now owned by Post Holdings, another giant consumer foods conglomerate. That said, we believes the point of the graphic still comes across.

Related Topics:corporations illusion choice consumer goods

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Maps

Which Countries Have the Most and Least Women in the Workforce?

More women in the workforce can indicate a shift towards women having more economic opportunities and facing fewer barriers to working outside the home.

Published

52 mins ago

June 6, 2024

Pallavi Rao

A cropped map and ranking of countries with the highest and lowest percentage of women in the workforce.

Countries With the Most and Least Women in the Workforce

This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

This map shows the top and bottom 10 countries by the percentage of their women population (aged 15+) in the labor force. This is also called the female workforce participation rate.

Data for this graphic is sourced from the World Bank, which aggregates International Labour Organization estimates from 2023.

ℹ️ A country’s labor force includes people aged 15+ who are working or actively looking for work in exchange for pay, profit, or shared production. Unpaid workers, family caretakers, students, and military personnel (depending on the country) may be excluded from this count.

Ranked: Countries By Rate of Women in the Workforce

Madagascar, Burundi, and Mozambique have some of the highest women workforce participation rates in the world (near 80%).

Here’s a full ranking of countries by their female workforce participation rate.

Rank	Country	Female Labor Force Participation Rate (2023)
1	🇲🇬 Madagascar	83%
2	🇸🇧 Solomon Islands	83%
3	🇧🇮 Burundi	79%
4	🇲🇿 Mozambique	78%
5	🇹🇿 Tanzania	77%
6	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	75%
7	🇦🇴 Angola	73%
8	🇱🇷 Liberia	72%
9	🇰🇪 Kenya	72%
10	🇲🇩 Moldova	72%
11	🇪🇷 Eritrea	71%
12	🇸🇸 South Sudan	70%
13	🇮🇸 Iceland	70%
14	🇰🇵 North Korea	70%
15	🇰🇭 Cambodia	70%
16	🇻🇳 Viet Nam	69%
17	🇳🇿 New Zealand	68%
18	🇺🇬 Uganda	68%
19	🇦🇿 Azerbaijan	67%
20	🇨🇲 Cameroon	67%
21	🇨🇩 Congo	67%
22	🇵🇪 Peru	66%
23	🇧🇸 Bahamas	65%
24	🇬🇭 Ghana	65%
25	🇧🇹 Bhutan	65%
26	🇶🇦 Qatar	64%
27	🇲🇼 Malawi	64%
28	🇨🇫 Central African Republic	63%
29	🇸🇪 Sweden	63%
30	🇰🇿 Kazakhstan	63%
31	🇲🇴 Macao	63%
32	🇨🇩 DRC	63%
33	🇱🇨 St. Lucia	63%
34	🇳🇪 Niger	62%
35	🇳🇴 Norway	62%
36	🇳🇱 Netherlands	62%
37	🇸🇬 Singapore	62%
38	🇦🇺 Australia	62%
39	🇯🇲 Jamaica	61%
40	🇨🇭 Switzerland	61%
41	🇨🇦 Canada	61%
42	🇪🇪 Estonia	61%
43	🇹🇱 Timor-Leste	61%
44	🇭🇹 Haiti	61%
45	🇮🇱 Israel	61%
46	🇻🇺 Vanuatu	61%
47	🇨🇳 China	61%
48	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	60%
49	🇨🇾 Cyprus	60%
50	🇧🇴 Bolivia	60%
51	🇧🇼 Botswana	60%
52	🇮🇪 Ireland	60%
53	🇩🇰 Denmark	60%
54	🇵🇾 Paraguay	60%
55	🇧🇾 Belarus	59%
56	🇹🇭 Thailand	59%
57	🇧🇧 Barbados	59%
58	🇬🇧 UK	58%
59	🇱🇺 Luxembourg	58%
60	🇫🇮 Finland	58%
61	🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	58%
62	🇱🇸 Lesotho	58%
63	🇱🇹 Lithuania	57%
64	🇲🇹 Malta	57%
65	🇦🇹 Austria	57%
66	🇧🇯 Benin	57%
67	🇨🇮 Cote d'Ivoire	57%
68	🇺🇸 U.S.	57%
69	🇩🇪 Germany	56%
70	🇬🇲 Gambia	56%
71	🇬🇺 Guam	56%
72	🇸🇰 Slovakia	56%
73	🇹🇬 Togo	56%
74	🇦🇲 Armenia	56%
75	🇱🇦 Laos	56%
76	🇰🇷 South Korea	56%
77	🇳🇦 Namibia	56%
78	🇺🇾 Uruguay	56%
79	🇱🇻 Latvia	56%
80	🇧🇳 Brunei	55%
81	🇦🇪 UAE	55%
82	🇵🇹 Portugal	55%
83	🇷🇼 Rwanda	55%
84	🇻🇨 St. Vincent & the Grenadines	55%
85	🇯🇵 Japan	55%
86	🇷🇺 Russia	55%
87	🇬🇪 Georgia	54%
88	🇭🇺 Hungary	54%
89	🇸🇮 Slovenia	54%
90	🇰🇬 Kyrgyz Republic	54%
91	🇮🇩 Indonesia	53%
92	🇪🇨 Ecuador	53%
93	🇧🇷 Brazil	53%
94	🇦🇱 Albania	53%
95	🇫🇷 France	53%
96	🇲🇳 Mongolia	53%
97	🇳🇨 New Caledonia	53%
98	🇪🇸 Spain	53%
99	🇿🇦 South Africa	52%
100	🇭🇰 Hong Kong	52%
101	🇳🇬 Nigeria	52%
102	🇿🇲 Zambia	52%
103	🇨🇿 Czechia	52%
104	🇨🇱 Chile	52%
105	🇩🇴 Dominican Republic	52%
106	🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	52%
107	🇲🇾 Malaysia	52%
108	🇲🇱 Mali	52%
109	🇵🇱 Poland	52%
110	🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	52%
111	🇨🇴 Colombia	51%
112	🇨🇻 Cabo Verde	51%
113	🇬🇬 Channel Islands	51%
114	🇷🇸 Serbia	51%
115	🇦🇷 Argentina	51%
116	🇧🇪 Belgium	51%
117	🇵🇦 Panama	50%
118	🇧🇿 Belize	50%
119	🇧🇬 Bulgaria	50%
120	🇭🇳 Honduras	50%
121	🇵🇫 French Polynesia	49%
122	🇲🇪 Montenegro	49%
123	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	49%
124	🇹🇲 Turkmenistan	49%
125	🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	49%
126	🇹🇩 Chad	49%
127	🇭🇷 Croatia	48%
128	🇰🇼 Kuwait	48%
129	🇸🇿 Eswatini	47%
130	🇵🇭 Philippines	47%
131	🇲🇽 Mexico	47%
132	🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea	46%
133	🇸🇻 El Salvador	46%
134	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	46%
135	🇬🇷 Greece	45%
136	🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands	45%
137	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	45%
138	🇸🇷 Suriname	45%
139	🇧🇭 Bahrain	44%
140	🇲🇺 Mauritius	43%
141	🇹🇴 Tonga	43%
142	🇲🇻 Maldives	43%
143	🇲🇰 North Macedonia	43%
144	🇬🇳 Guinea	42%
145	🇷🇴 Romania	42%
146	🇨🇺 Cuba	42%
147	🇲🇲 Myanmar	42%
148	🇼🇸 Samoa	41%
149	🇮🇹 Italy	41%
150	🇬🇹 Guatemala	41%
151	🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina	41%
152	🇬🇦 Gabon	40%
153	🇺🇿 Uzbekistan	40%
154	🇬🇾 Guyana	40%
155	🇻🇪 Venezuela	39%
156	🇫🇯 Fiji	39%
157	🇸🇹 Sao Tome & Principe	38%
158	🇸🇳 Senegal	38%
159	🇧🇩 Bangladesh	37%
160	🇹🇷 Türkiye	35%
161	🇱🇾 Libya	35%
162	🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia	35%
163	🇰🇲 Comoros	33%
164	🇮🇳 India	33%
165	🇱🇰 Sri Lanka	32%
166	🇴🇲 Oman	32%
167	🇵🇷 Puerto Rico	32%
168	🇹🇯 Tajikistan	32%
169	🇳🇵 Nepal	29%
170	🇸🇩 Sudan	28%
171	🇱🇧 Lebanon	28%
172	🇹🇳 Tunisia	27%
173	🇲🇷 Mauritania	26%
174	🇵🇰 Pakistan	25%
175	🇸🇴 Somalia	21%
176	🇲🇦 Morocco	20%
177	🇩🇯 Djibouti	19%
178	🇩🇿 Algeria	17%
179	🇪🇬 Egypt	17%
180	🇸🇾 Syria	14%
181	🇯🇴 Jordan	14%
182	🇮🇷 Iran	14%
183	🇮🇶 Iraq	11%
184	🇾🇪 Yemen	5%
185	🇦🇫 Afghanistan	5%

Note: Figures rounded and based on International Labour Organization’s estimates as of 2023.

On the other hand, Afghanistan and Yemen are currently estimated to have the lowest percentage of working-aged women in their workforce at 5%.

By glancing through the bottom 20, it’s apparent that countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia exhibit notably lower rates of women in the workforce.

As Our World in Data points out, female labor force participation peaks in some of the richest and poorest countries in the world. But is lowest in countries with average national incomes.

More people in the workforce can contribute to economic growth and productivity. As women make up roughly half the population, their participation can be a major driver of economic expansion.