Big Food is driving out smaller businesses. To truly understand how customers need to first realize how interconnected the big brands are. A lot of time they invest in start-up businesses to be allowed access to their market and insights (“Small Steps”). There is always an ulterior motive. Big Food is smart about where they put their money to get the most out of it. The food industry, “plays better politics than anyone” (“PLoS”).
One example of this is large drink companies partnering with the most popular fast food brands. In doing this they get a massive amount of sales with minimal amount of work, for example Wimpy and Nado’s, popular fast food restaurants in South Africa, only serves Coca-Cola products (Igumbor et al). Until recently, McDonalds almost exclusively sold Coca-Cola, and it still is the majority of soft drinks at the fast food chain. Big Food is dominating every market without customers even realizing.
To help customers get a good idea of the extent of their dominance, they need to know what brands are affiliated with even bigger brands. One example is Smucker’s, Pillsbury and General Mills. Pillsbury was originally an independently owned business until in 2001 when General Mills bought it from them. However, General Mills was forced to sell the dry-baking products like cake mixes to Smucker’s. In 2018, Brynwood Partners bought the baking business from Smucker’s, an exchange worth $375 million dollars. Brynwood Partner is described as a private equity, but do not mistake it for a small business win because this company is the owner of two big drink brands, SunnyD and Juicy Juice (“Smucker”).
Some other examples are Annie’s Homegrown Inc., which has been owned by General Mills since 2014, and Kashi, a business that sells healthy snacks, was bought by Kellogg in 2000. Sales fell for a decade after Kellogg bought it. After Hershey bought Skinny Pop, it kept Amplify Snack Brands, the previous owner’s headquarters, so Hershey had better access to other smaller brands affiliated with Amplify Snack Brands (“Small Steps”). One last example: For $11 billion, the maker of Chef Boyardee is buying Pinnacle Foods, the owner of Mrs. Butterworth, Duncan Hines, and many other familiar brands (“Smucker”).
It is quite easy to get lost in Google searches trying to trace a small brand back to its big owner, but for the most part there always is a bigger brand behind the small ones that people love. The easiest way to avoid this is supporting local businesses.
As big companies become more and more dominant, smaller businesses struggle. Some Big Food companies’ annual revenue is equal to the annual gross domestic product of a middle-sized country (Monteiro and Canon). This surplus of money allows them to strategically invest their money in new markets, making it really hard for start-ups to get going.
Mass marketing is expensive and necessary to promote big brands. In contrast, new brands do not need as much advertising (“Small Steps”). For this reason, Big Food invests in these newer brands by offering deals that they cannot refuse. Big Food only cares about making money, driving them to use corrupt tactics, such as, targeting kids in commercials. About 16% of advertisements during kids TV are food products and 55% of these have essentially no nutritional value (Igumbor et al). Much like the tobacco industry of old, they are targeting youth, so they have lifelong customers.
The sad part is that their tactics are very effective. “The top ten soft drink companies account for 79% of the total soft drink sales in South Africa,” and “the largest ten packaged food companies in South Africa accounts for 51.8% of total packaged food sales” (Igumbor et al).
This is ruining the food environment; we need variety in our stores. All that can be found in grocery stores are different products made by the same ten companies who have the same philosophy: make money. Variation in grocery stores is necessary. That variation is offered by small brands that care about their customers, but how can they justify refusing millions of dollars from a Big Food company?
An example of Big Food taking over local businesses is a Brazilian restaurant. The bottled water offered in the restaurant is made by a Brazilian company that is now owned by Coca-Cola. The local water-based ice lollies that used to be sold there now have been replaced by sugary Nestle ice cream (Monteiro and Cannon). Every time a customer buys from Big Food, they are supporting and allowing them to take over.
Works Cited
Igumbor, Ehimario U., et al. “‘Big Food,’ the consumer food environment, health, and the policy response in South Africa.” PLoS Medicine, vol. 9, no. 7, 2012. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A299885106/OVIC?u=mtlib_2_906&sid =OVIC&xid=3ea2cd44. Accessed 29 Jan. 2020.
Monteiro, Carlos A., and Geoffrey Cannon. “The impact of transnational ‘Big Food’ companies on the South: a view from Brazil.” PLoS Medicine, vol. 9, no. 7, 2012. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A299885105/OVIC?u=mtlib_2_906&sid =OVIC&xid=171adff1. Accessed 31 Jan. 2020.
“PLoS medicine series on Big Food: the food industry is ripe for scrutiny.” PLoS Medicine, vol. 9, no. 6, 2012. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A295 420282/OVIC?u=mtlib_2_906&sid=OVIC&xid=7873be40. Accessed 31 Jan. 2020.
“Small steps for big food brands.” Australian [National, Australia], 1 Oct. 2018, p. 22. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A556429574/OVIC?u=mtlib_2_9 06&sid=OVIC&xid=e99ae07b. Accessed 28 Jan. 2020.
“Smucker is saying goodbye to the Pillsbury Doughboy.” CNN Wire, 10 July 2018. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A545986060/OVIC?u=mtlib_2_ 906&sid=OVIC&xid=9151c65b. Accessed 28 Jan. 2020.