6 Multinational Corporations That Control Everything You Buy

There are hundreds upon thousands of different brand names out there and those brand names are the reason we buy certain things. The brand name alone can be the deciding factor in which product you buy. “Sunchips are better than Fritos, so I’m going to get those.”

You might think that you’re giving your business to one brand or corporation, but not another, when in reality they might just be owned by the same parent corporation–like Sunchips and Frito’s, which are both owned by PepsiCo.

Even though there are numerous brand names out there, many of them are actually owned by the same corporation. The more brands you have, the bigger the chances are that consumers will purchase your products, and there’s really nothing better than being your own competition. It’s one way to keep wealthy, if you control a certain market share, then ultimately you’re ensuring your own success.

Below is a list of the 6 largest parent companies in the world. Some of these companies own dozens of brands that produce everything from electronics and medicine to clothing and jewelry.

1. KRAFT Foods

When people think of KRAFT, they automatically think of KD or KRAFT Dinner, but did you know they own and produce so much more than just cheesy noodles. It ranks #60 on the Forbes 2000 list of the world’s most valuable brands and is worth just over $52 billion. KRAFT is one of those rare companies that sticks to what they know; they only produce foodstuffs, but they produce a lot of it!

KRAFT owns so many different brands, that it’s almost impossible to list them all. KRAFT produces foods such as Cheez Whiz, Mayo, Miracle Whip, A1 7 Bullseye Barbeque Sauces, Jello, Maxwell House, and Nabob.

This parent company also owns assorted drink and soda brands such as A&W, Dr. Pepper, Welch’s, Mott’s, Canada Dry, Crush, Clamato, Snapple, Squirt, and Sunkist. Other drinks and foodstuffs they own include RITZ, Wheat Thins, Planters, Triscuit, Del Monte, Kool-Aid, Capri Sun, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Cracker Barrel, and Velveeta.

Finally, KRAFT also owns manufacturing companies of sweet foods and brands such as Bakers, Toblerone, Cadbury, Certs, Chiclets, Bubbleicious, Stride, Halls, Dentyne, Clorets, Oreo, Fig-Newton, Teddy Grahams, Chips Ahoy, Maynards, Caramilk, Sour Patch Kids, Crispie Crunch , Oscar Mayer, Shake & Bake, Honey Maid, and Mr. Christie’s!

The chances are extremely high that you’ve consumed at least one of these products in the last month.

2. Unilever

Unilever is a well-known corporation that owns a wide range of companies that produce products from household and personal care items to food stuffs as well. They own some of the most famous companies and brands out there, things that you probably have in your house at any given point. Unilever ranks #113 on the Forbes Global 2000 list and is worth a little more than $129 billion.

Several of the companies and brands that Unilever owns which produce products to clean and maintain both your house and yourself include: Sunlight, Vim, Via, Sun, and Breeze, Q-tips, Comfort, Degree, Vaseline, Dove, AXE, Lever 2000, St. Ives, Suave, Noxema, Thermasilk, TRESemme, Alberto and Cutex.

Unilever also owns brands that produce some of your favorite frozen treats like Cornetto, Ben & Jerry’s, Popsicle, Klondike, Magnum, and Breyer’s too. The probability that you’ve eaten Unilever ice cream in your lifetime is 99.9%. They also own Lipton and Red Rose, as well as Knorr, Becel, Slim-Fast, Skippy, Hellman’s, and Bovril.

3. PepsiCo

Pepsi doesn’t just make drinks, they also produce a great many other things. PepsiCo is a huge parent company that owns several other major brands. They place #99 on the Forbes Global 2000 list and the company is worth $143 billion.

PepsiCo even owns Yum!Brands which is the organization that used to be known as Tricon Global Restaurants, Yum!Brands operates licensed brands such as Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut and Wing Street. They also own many brand name drink comapnies like Tropicana, Auquafina, MUG Rootbeer, Mountain Dew, 7up, Sobe, Brisk, and Gatorade too.

PepsiCo also owns Quaker, the people that make Aunt Jemima, Captain Crunch, Life cereal, Chewy granola bars, and many other grain products too. Finally, you can’t enjoy a Pepsi without some chips and that’s why they also own Ruffles, Fritos, Sunchips, Lays, Tostitos, Doritos, and Cheetos.

4. P&G

Most people have regular everyday items in their home like food, soap, detergent, batteries, cleaning supplies, clothing, and medicine. Procter and Gamble, otherwise known as P&G is the parent company to a diverse portfolio of products and corporations.

P&G is one of–if not the world’s biggest–parent company on the globe today. Procter & Gamble holds the #36 spot on the Forbes Global 2000 list and is worth close to $225 billion.

This parent corporation owns only 2 food companies, such as IAMS which produces dog food, and Pringles the chips that don’t stop according to their media campaign, but there are still many brands and products you use everyday that are made by other companies owned by P&G.

Speaking of your house, if you clean your house, do laundry and dishes, then you definitely have some P&G products in your house. Corporations like Dawn, Tide, Bounce, Cascade, Gain, Joy, Cheer, Ivory, Zest, Downy, Mr. Clean, Febreze, Bounty, Comet, and Puffs are all companies which produce cleaning products, that are owned by P&G.

P&G owns several companies in the personal hygiene and health field as well; Herbal Essence, Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Nice’n Easy, Gillette, Old Spice, Tampax, Pampers, Always, Charmin, Oral-B, Crest, Scope, Fixodent, Vicks, Metamucil, CLAIROL, Olay, Covergirl and Pepto Bismol are all owned by this parent company. They even own BRAUN, Duracell, PUR, Lacoste, and Hugo Boss too!

Based on this vast list, you can be sure that every last person in a developed country has a P&G product in their home.

5. Nestle

Nestle is a very well-known brand that most famously produces Smarties, those oh so delicious little candy covered chocolates. Nestle also produces many other things besides food and chocolate, or should we say that they own many companies that do. This parent company is #30 on the Forbes Global 2000 list, and is worth a whopping $247 billion.

Let’s start out with some of the companies and brands that you would never have thought were owned by Nestle. Did you know that Nestle owns L’Oreal, Garnier, VICHY, Maybelline, The Body Shop, and Biotherm. Apparently Nestle really likes to produce makeup and not just chocolate. Makeup isn’t the only major part of Nestle’s portfolio.

By proxy of owning L’Oreal, Nestle also owns Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent, and DIESEL, or at least they own the product licenses for their perfumes.

Nestle predominately owns corporations that produce pet food, they own Purina, Beneful, Friskies, ALPO, Fancy Feast and more. Not only do they dominate in the dog food industry, but they also rule the world of the chocolate bar.

The are just some of the companies and products that Nestle owns: Wonka (Nerds, Laffy Taffy, Gobstoppers, Runts, & Sweet Tarts), Turtles, Rolo, Kit Kat, Aero, Jello, Coffee Crisp, O’Henry, Crunch bars, Drumsticks, and Parlour ice cream.

Among their food products are surprisingly enough food and drink companies that aren’t sweet. Nescafé, Coffee Mate, Perrier, Vittel, Poland Springs, Stouffer’s, Delissio, and Hot Pockets Are other food companies owned by Nestle.

6. Johnson & Johnson

You’re most likely familiar with the Johnson & Johnson brand, Bandaids, but believe me, that’s not all they produce. Johnson & Johnson is one of the world’s largest producers of medicine and medical supplies, it ranks #34 of the Forbes Global 2000 list, and has a current net worth of just over $275 billion.

Johnson & Johnson owns corporations all over the globe from Beijing to Europe and back to the good ol’ US of A. Their main subsidiary is Johnson & Johnson Medical which has offices in Korea, Mexico, Australia, Russia, Italy, South Africa, Japan, India, and more.

You might be surprised to hear that they own companies that make medical diagnostic tools as well as companies that study viruses. Some of their more well known ventures include The Tylenol Company, Splenda, Aveeno, Nicoderm, Rolaids and Clean&Clear. They also own international medical and cosmetic companies like, Beijing Dabao Cosmetics Co Ltd, DePuy, Calig, ColBar Life Science, Amic AB, Alza Ireland Ltd, Ethnor Farmaceutica and Janssen Pharmaceutical.

These parent companies might have a wealth of organizations holding them up, but it’s still amazing to see how many companies are owned by just a few.

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