# What supermarket product has the most varieties? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 26, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079 "2020-08-26T18:17:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/1 "2020-08-26T18:17:18Z")
Responding to another thread about salads, I commented on the zillions of salad dressings on the market shelf. What product do you think has the greatest number of varieties (different brands/flavors/fat-salt free/etc)? I suggest as a top 3 (in no particular order): salad dressing, salsa, barbecue sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/2 "2020-08-26T18:21:29Z")
Breakfast cereal or soda pop ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/3 "2020-08-26T18:22:36Z")
Potato chips. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/4 "2020-08-26T18:23:59Z")
Cereal. The cereal aisle can be downright frustrating with all of the choices. [![](https://i2.wp.com/www.sullamaca.it/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/main.png?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1) ](https://i2.wp.com/www.sullamaca.it/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/main.png?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/5 "2020-08-26T18:24:03Z")
Ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/6 "2020-08-26T18:27:24Z")
Pasta. Edit: unless we go broad enough for an answer like ‘beverages.’ ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/7 "2020-08-26T18:41:57Z")
Yeah - cereal might be it. But I wonder if there are more cereals than my suggestions - if corrected for package size… ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/8 "2020-08-26T19:23:59Z")
Depending on where you are, the Hot Sauce options can be downright dizzying. They take up less shelf space, but I bet they are right up there with cereal when it comes to distinct flavors/brands. Half the cereal aisle is just the same varieties in 5 different volumes/weights. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/9 "2020-08-26T19:27:12Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Depending on where you are, the Hot Sauce options can be downright dizzying. - And yet they all taste like napalm. 🥵 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/10 "2020-08-26T19:33:28Z")
Possibly cheese? [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFGH55fjBvI) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/11 "2020-08-26T19:47:16Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Possibly cheese? - That depends on the shop. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/12 "2020-08-26T19:49:22Z")
At my grocery, it’s wine hands-down. There’s an entire aisle, 5 racks high, and every displayed item is different. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/13 "2020-08-26T19:51:24Z")
It’s very clean! yeah - wine/beer probably tops any non-ETOH item. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/14 "2020-08-26T19:52:30Z")
I went to the website for a major supermarket and did a search for all of the items listed so far. The top 4 are: 1. Cereal - 1,742 choices 2. Cheese - 1,310 3. Pasta - 1,083 4. Wine 829 ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/15 "2020-08-26T19:55:36Z")
> [@Author\_Balk](#): > > I went to the website for a major supermarket and did a search for all of the items listed so far. The top 4 are: > > 1. Cereal - 1,742 choices > 2. Cheese - 1,310 > 3. Pasta - 1,083 > 4. Wine 829 [![](https://s.hdnux.com/photos/27/30/53/6130392/5/rawImage.jpg) ](https://s.hdnux.com/photos/27/30/53/6130392/5/rawImage.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/16 "2020-08-26T19:56:09Z")
Wow - that surprises me. Cheese? Pasta? I wonder if they include various types of cheese/pasts. Such as dry bulk pasta, refrigerated, pasta products like Mac/Cheez, etc. Because they don’t all appear cheek-by-jowl like the BBQ sauces ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/17 "2020-08-26T20:26:32Z")
Some days it seems like yogurt takes the prize. Greek vs non-Greek. Low- vs no- vs full-fat. Real vs fake sweetener. Blended vs goop on bottom. That’s 24 options. Times 6 brands times 12 flavors times 3 sizes. Comes right close to 5000 choices! To be sure, any one store isn’t going to stock all 5000 permutations. But it has the effect that whichever cross-section of that 5000-type universe they do stock on any given visit seems to be both random and rotating. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/18 "2020-08-26T20:27:52Z")
Canned soup? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/19 "2020-08-26T20:34:02Z")
Right now I have 5 different types of Cheerios at home. There are at least 4 more varieties in stores. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2020, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079/20 "2020-08-26T20:39:14Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Wow - that surprises me. Cheese? Pasta? I wonder if they include various types of cheese/pasts. Such as dry bulk pasta, refrigerated, pasta products like Mac/Cheez, etc. Because they don’t all appear cheek-by-jowl like the BBQ sauces I’m guessing they did a keyword search. You’re probably going to get a ton of hits for things with “cheese” or “pasta” in the name or description like Cheez-Itz, Cheesy Tuna Helper and Chef Boyardee. You’ll also get distinct hits for every single size/packaging option. There’s probably 25 versions of the same Kraft Sharp Cheddar product, 8 oz, 16 oz, finely grated, shredded, sliced, block etc. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-supermarket-product-has-the-most-varieties/919079.md?page=2)