[unreal37]

It's an interesting perspective, but I can't agree with you that consumer products (and food) are "done".

I am not going to suggest you actually go out and do the Pepsi Challenge with pasta sauce, but I don't actually believe that there are no food brands you, Patrick, are loyal to based on taste or quality, that you buy even though they might be more expensive than another.

Is there a brand of rice you get because it comes out just a bit better than the other one you tried? Or a rice cooker that is notoriously reliable compared to another that dies after a year? Or a bread brand you get because it lasts longer before going bad?

Ignoring all the marketing, I am sure if you did an objective Consumer Reports-style study of almost any category of consumer product or food, you would find some that perform better at what they do, or taste better, or are actually healthier for you by an objective standard, or have the best combination of price/quality for you.

Coke and Pepsi are distinguishable from each other easily. A McDonalds Fry and a Burger King Fry are too - completely different. And there is such a thing as quality even if you aren't conscious of it.