“The Illusion of Choice,” via Reddit, is a chart of corporations that create a chain of smaller brands that can all be traced from the 10 mega companies featured here. We assume that you have heard of the biggest brand names and their products that you bring home all the time, however, it’s incredible to know what these giants own and control. Their influence is staggering as shown in this data visualization.

Take for example, Lays. This popular snack brand has been acquired by Pepsi not so long ago. Pepsi also owns other nine smaller brands which belong to a family of snack brands. If you think about it, it’s a wise decision for the soda company to have invested in these smaller brands since they all carry snack items.

And what about Coke, Nestle, and P & G? Well, they also own other brands which are so familiar it’s a bit surprising to know they are owned by one of the ten super corporations.

Via Lifehack