French Fries

24/7 Wall St.: Cheap Products That Made Companies Billions

- Company Name: McDonald’s
- Market Share: 12.7 percent
- Average Price: $2 for a large size

McDonald’s has the largest share of the U.S. fast food market — 12.7 percent. The company with the second-largest market share — Yum! Brands, which operates KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell — has a significantly smaller share of 9.7 percent. Since 2004, McDonald’s has delivered an annual growth rate of 5 percent, according to CNN Money, and in 2010, revenue exceeded $24 billion. According to the company’s 2007 annual report, classic menu items such as french fries account for more than 75 percent of its global sales. It also notes that this percentage is growing. When not ordered as part of a meal, a large order of the famous french fries costs around $2.

(AP Photo/Rich Kareckas)

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The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

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Small But Mighty... Just because certain products have a low price tag does not mean they cannot sell for billions of dollars. In fact, some of the cheapest products make the most money for their companies. 24/7 Wall St. identified some of the best-selling consumer goods and food products costing under $5 and the companies that make them. The cheapest and most successful products are sold by companies with the strongest and oldest brands that spend the most on advertising.

(AP Photos)

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The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
Gillette Razors -Company Name: Procter & Gamble
- Market Share: 70 percent
- Average price: $5

Procter & Gamble is the largest advertiser in the world. It spends nearly $10 billion a year on TV, internet and print campaigns to market the many highly successful consumer goods it sells, including razors. In the razors and blades market for men, P&G’s global market share is a staggering 70%, according to the company, primarily through its Gillette franchise. Net sales for P&G’s grooming segment increased 3 percent in 2010 to $7.6 billion. The average razor sells for approximately $5.

(AP Photo/Don Ryan)

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The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
Coke - Company Name: Coca-Cola Co.
- Market Share: 17 percent
- Average Price: $2.69 for a 6-pack

The Coca-Cola Company dominates the U.S. soft drink market, holding a 42 percent market share in 2010, or over 12 percentage points more than closest rival PepsiCo. When it comes to brand-specific market share, Coca-Cola’s greatest asset is its trademark product, Coke, which has a market share of 17 percent on its own. Diet Coke has the second highest market share among all soft drink brands with a 9.9 percent share. PepsiCo’s drink Pepsi-Cola ranks third, holding a 9.5 percent share. Coke continues to do exceptionally well for the company. In 2010, the product “accounted for nearly 400 million unit cases of incremental volume, the largest incremental growth ... seen since 2007,” according to the company. Sales in America, however, have dropped over the past 10 years.

(AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

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The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
Campbell's Soup - Company Name: Campbell Soup Company
- Market Share: More than 60 percent
- Average Price: Less than $2

A can of Campbell’s soup costs less than $2. Each year in the U.S., the company sells nearly 2 billion cans. As a result, the company holds more than 60 percent of the country’s wet soup market. Each year, more than 80 percent of all households in the U.S. purchase Campbell’s soup, the company claims. This is nearly 100 million households. On average, American consumers have six cans of Campbell’s soup stocked at all times.

(AP Photo/Lisa Poole, File)

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The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
Trident - Company Name: Kraft Foods
- Market Share: 23.8 percent
- Average Price: $4 for a 3-pack

Kraft Foods owns a number of top brands, including Nabisco’s Ritz and Oreo, and Kraft macaroni and cheese. Kraft also owns Trident, which holds 23.8 percent of the U.S.’s $2.7 billion gum market — the largest share in the country. Wrigley’s Orbit is a close second with a 20.6 percent share. Trident gum, which costs approximately $4 for a 3-pack, is one of Kraft Foods top-revenue generating brands with over $1 billion in global annual sales.

(iStock Photo)

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The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
French Fries - Company Name: McDonald’s
- Market Share: 12.7 percent
- Average Price: $2 for a large size

McDonald’s has the largest share of the U.S. fast food market — 12.7 percent. The company with the second-largest market share — Yum! Brands, which operates KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell — has a significantly smaller share of 9.7 percent. Since 2004, McDonald’s has delivered an annual growth rate of 5 percent, according to CNN Money, and in 2010, revenue exceeded $24 billion. According to the company’s 2007 annual report, classic menu items such as french fries account for more than 75 percent of its global sales. It also notes that this percentage is growing. When not ordered as part of a meal, a large order of the famous french fries costs around $2.

(AP Photo/Rich Kareckas)

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The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
Bananas - Company Name: Dole Food
- Market Share: 34 percent
- Average Price: $1 per lb.

Dole Food has the largest market share in a number of products, including iceberg lettuce, celery, cauliflower and packaged fruit products. One of the company’s most surprising number one positions is in bananas, where it has 34 percent of the U.S. market. In 2010, Dole sold approximately 153 million boxes of bananas. It is also the largest brand for bananas in Japan.

(iStock Photo)

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The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
Colgate Toothpas... - Company Name: Colgate-Palmolive
- Market Share: 44.7 percent
- Average Price: $3.50

Colgate-Palmolive’s flagship product, Colgate, is in heated competition with P&G’s Crest for the number one toothpaste in the U.S. On the global scale, Colgate has a more comfortable lead, controlling 44.7 percent of the market, according to the company’s press release for first quarter 2011 results. This is an increase of 0.6 percent from the year before. One six-oz. tube of Colgate sells for between $3 and $4. Colgate recently announced that it had raised prices in North America in the fourth quarter, after cutting prices each quarter since 2009.

(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

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The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
Tropicana Orange... - Company Name: PepsiCo
- Market Share: 28.2 percent
- Average Price: $1

Although PepsiCo is not the leader of the soft drink market, it is the leader of the orange juice market through its Tropicana brand. Tropicana controls 28.2 percent of the U.S. market for orange juice and orange juice blends sold in supermarkets, according to Beverage Digest. Although a 12 oz. carton of Tropicana orange juice only costs about $1, Tropicana beverages, which include orange juice and other fruit juices, earned Pepsi approximately $5 billion in 2009. Despite being the industry leader, Pepsi is feeling the heat from Coke’s Simply Orange. To regain lost market share, it is pursuing a makeover.

(iStock Photo)

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The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
Cheerios - Company Name: General Mills
- Market Share: 12.6 percent
- Average Price: $5

Cheerios have been General Mills’ top-selling brand since 1951. They are also the most popular cereal in the U.S. As of 2008, Cheerios had a market share of 12.6 percent, according to Nielsen. As of 2011, one in eight boxes of cereal bought in the country were Cheerios. A single box of Cheerios costs about $5.

(AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

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The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
Starbucks Coffee - Company Name: Starbucks
- Market Share: 32.6 percent
- Average price: less than $3

Starbucks, which was founded in 1971, is the largest coffee and snack shop in the U.S., holding a 32.6 percent share of the market, according to a 2011 report by analyst group IBISWorld. Built around one of the most simple of products — a cup of coffee — Starbucks has grown into an international behemoth, and it continues to get bigger. In fiscal 2010, the company’s revenues increased to a record $10.7 billion. This is quite a feat for a store where the average price of a beverage is less than $3 and 90% of drinks cost under $4. The company sells an average of 8.2 million coffee drinks a day in the U.S, according to The Boston Globe.

(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
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