HOW FOOD MONOPOLIES IMPACT CONSUMERS About Food & Water Watch Food & Water Watch works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainable. So we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we help people take charge of where their food comes from, keep clean, affordable, public tap water flowing freely to our homes, protect the environmental quality of oceans, force government to do its job protecting citizens, and educate about the importance of keeping shared resources under public control. Food & Water Watch California Office 1616 P St. NW, Ste. 300 1814 Franklin St., Ste. 1100 Washington, DC 20036 Oakland, CA 94612 tel: (202) 683-2500 tel: (510) 922-0720 fax: (202) 683-2501 fax: (510) 922-0723
[email protected] [email protected] foodandwaterwatch.org Copyright © December 2013 by Food & Water Watch. All rights reserved. This report can be viewed or downloaded at foodandwaterwatch.org. HOW FOOD MONOPOLIES IMPACT CONSUMERS Executive Summary . 2 Introduction . 3 Supersizing the Supermarket . 3 The Rise of Monolithic Food Manufacturers. 4 Intense consolidation throughout the supermarket . 7 Consumer choice limited. 7 Storewide domination by a few firms . 8 Supermarket Strategies to Manipulate Shoppers . 9 Sensory manipulation . .10 Product placement . .10 Slotting fees and category captains . .11 Advertising and promotions . .11 Conclusion and Recommendations. .12 Appendix A: Market Share of 100 Grocery Items . .13 Appendix B: Top Food Conglomerates’ Widespread Presence in the Grocery Store . .27 Methodology . .29 Endnotes. .30 Executive Summary Safeway.4 Walmart alone sold nearly a third (28.8 5 Groceries are big business, with Americans spending percent) of all groceries in 2012.