So many brands, so few companies

Ever stand in an aisle at your favorite grocery store and feel bewildered by the selection? How could there be so many kinds of cereal? Why are there so many different jars of peanut butter?

Well, it turns out 10 companies — including Deerfield-based Mondelez International Inc. — account for the vast majority of the items in a typical grocery. Just 10, according to BehindTheBrands.org, a project of Oxfam International. Oxfam works on poverty, environmental and social justics issues worldwide.

The project yielded this chart of popular brands and the companies they come from.

Courtesy of BehindTheBrands.org

This post from Sploid rounds up several other graphics that show interconnections among airlines; automakers; beer companies; financial institutions; media companies; and TV channels.