Imagine this. You are out of shampoo. You head to the nearby supermarket to get a new one. Bam! The entire aisle is stacked with a variety of brands from top to bottom. You see brands like Head & Shoulders, Pantene, Rejoice and Herbal Essences. So many choices. Or is it just an illusion of choices?

What do we mean by that?

For starters, all the four brands mentioned above are brands managed by the consumer giant Proctor and Gamble Co (PG 87.69 -0.05 -0.06%).

Now wait a minute, are we saying that no matter which of the four you pick, they are ultimately under the same company?

You are starting to get the picture now. And by no means this is just limited to shampoo, think bigger, think about the chocolate bar you just picked out, or the soft drink you had earlier in ...