Soft drinks in the US of A

Working closely with our All-Things-Beverage client ‘First Beverage Group’ we at TimeZoneOne have been learning all about the USA beverage scene. I came across this very interesting fact last week and thought I would share it with all the beverage lovers out there…
Three firms control 89% of US soft drink sales. This dominance is obscured from us by the appearance of numerous choices on retailer shelves. This has created an illusion of diversity which hides a lack of real choice.
To visualize the extent of this illusion some smart boffin (for some reason boffins have loads of time on their hands) designed the below cluster diagrams to represent the number of soft drink brands and varieties found in the refrigerator cases of 94 Michigan retailers, along with their ownership connections.