It seems harder and harder to find good independent products. A lot of brands present a “we’re small, but mighty” exterior, and they are certainly mighty, but how many of them are actually small?
Check out these seemingly small companies that are actually owned by huge corporations, ranging from Ben & Jerry’s to Burt’s Bees.
Related: 7 Companies That Went Downhill After Being Acquired
1. Bolthouse Farms
Bolthouse Farms, known for drinks and “healthy” salad dressings, seems like one of those tiny little brands that sticks out at the grocery store, but it’s actually been owned by a number of huge companies. Now owned by Butterfly Equity (which owns Qdoba), Bolthouse was previously bought by Campbell’s for a meager $1.55 billion.
2. Justin’s Peanut Butter
Hormel Foods, the company behind Planter’s, Skippy, Spam, and Columbus Meats, bought Justin’s for $280 million in 2016. Hormel’s got quite the peanut collection going.
3. Applegate Farms
Hormel also has Applegate Farms, whose pleasant branding and good-tasting meats have excellent placement in a ton of grocery stores. Them’s the breaks; with big budgets come good branding and aisle placement.
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4. Ben & Jerry’s
You know those lovable goofballs up in Vermont? Though their parent company, the multinational food giant Unilever, is getting ready to spin off its ice cream divisions, Ben & Jerry’s was initially acquired for $326 million. Good job, boys.
Related: Competing Brands That Are Owned by the Same Company
5. Kashi
The wholesome, whole-grain, fresh-off-the-farm vibes that Kashi provides are actually courtesy of Kellogg’s and Keebler. Kashi was bought for an undisclosed sum, which is my favorite type of sum to read about. Let the speculation begin.
Related: 20 Famous Brands That Made Remarkable Comebacks
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6. Burt’s Bees
Clorox bought Burt’s Bees for nearly a billion bucks, so they’re not exactly the “little guy” at the store anymore.
Unfortunately I can’t talk about Burt’s Bees without bringing up the time all the youths were Beezin’, AKA, rubbing a bunch of Burt’s Bees on their eyelids because they were too young to drink. Teenagers, man.
7. RXBar
Kellogg’s also snatched up RXBar, which also happens to make peanut butter. In fact, they happen to make the best peanut butter I’ve ever tasted. It’s swirled full of cinnamon and honey, and if that’s the big corporation touch, I’m absolutely OK with it.
8. Cape Cod
Since 2018, Cape Cod chips have been owned by Campbell’s. The maker of these beloved, lighthouse-adorned chips was purchased for almost $5 billion.
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9. Vitamin Water
Coca-Cola bought Vitamin Water’s parent company Glaceau for $4 billion, which explains why I still see that nasty stuff everywhere, in every store.
10. Odwalla and Naked Juice
Pepsi once owned Naked (now it belongs to PAI Partners, a $25 billion company) and Coke owns Odwalla. Does that influence your next purchase at all? ’Cause it does for me.
