Food Marketing Companies: Diversification and Structure

Excerpt from the report Introduction: Two areas of information about the structure of the food marketing industry have received little attention from economists, because data which would permit attention to such factors have been lacking. These two areas are (1) the ownership pattern of companies in terms of the number of establishments owned, and (2) diversification--the degree to which establishments are engaged in activities which differ from those of the parent company. The purpose of this study is to examine both aspects of structure of the food marketing industry. This study has been made possible by the availability, for the first time, from the Bureau of the Census, of statistics pertaining to companies as contrasted with establishment data which have been available for many years