Table 2 Overview of the different metrics used to assess aspects of the market structure and their respective interpretation. ESM = European Single Market

 Leading global brand owner per country

Global brand owner market share data per country

The different (or similar) leading global brand owners across Europe

 Leading national brand owner per country

National brand owner market share data per country

The different (or similar) leading companies across Europe that nationally have the right to produce or distribute brands

 Number of global brand owners with ≥1% market share per country

The number of all global brand owners per country with ≥1% market share

The higher the number of global brand owners with ≥1% market share the more diverse the food industry was assumed to be

 Number of unique companies per country

The number of all companies in a country having presence in only one ESM member state

The higher the number of unique companies, the more diverse the actors active within the food industry were assumed to be

 Leading European global brand owners

Sum of the sales data per member state by year and global brand owner

The leading companies that own the most sold brands across the ESM and that may not have appeared as leading company at national level

 Top three most sold packaged food and non-alcoholic beverage categories per country

Product category specific sales data per country

The different (or similar) most sold, and as such potentially most consumed, product categories per country

 Most sold European packaged food and non-alcoholic beverage categories

Sum of the sales data per member state by year and product category

The different (or similar) most sold, and as such potentially most consumed, product categories across the ESM that may not have appeared among the top three at national level

 Number of quick-service restaurant outlets per country

The number of outlets per 1000 inhabitants as obtained from Euromonitor

The different (or similar) density of quick-service restaurant outlets across the ESM

 Number of annual fast food transactions per country

The number of transactions per 1000 inhabitants per year as obtained from Euromonitor

The different (or similar) amount of fast food transactions, and as such potential consumption levels, across the ESM

 Dominant type of quick-service restaurant per country (chained versus independent)

The percent sales derived from chained consumer foodservice

The amount of fast food sales that can be attributed to larger quick-service restaurant chains

 Preferred way of ordering and eating fast food per country

The percent of sales derived from eat in, take away, home delivery and drive through

The different (or similar) ways people across the ESM prefer to consume fast food

 Number of supermarket outlets per country

Number of outlets per 1000 inhabitants as obtained from Euromonitor

The different (or similar) density of supermarket outlets across the ESM

 Contribution of supermarket own-brand packaged food products to the overall sales of packaged foods per country

The percentage of packaged foods per country derived from supermarket own-brand products

The availability of supermarket own-brand packaged food products within the market per country.

An estimation whether the sales of supermarket own-brand products is country specific

 Contribution of supermarket own-brand non-alcoholic beverages to the overall sales of non-alcoholic beverages per country

The percentage of non-alcoholic beverages per country derived from supermarket own-brand products

The availability of supermarket own-brand non-alcoholic beverages within the market per country.

An estimation whether the sales of supermarket own-brand products is country specific

 Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) per country

The summation of the squared market share of the firms active within the market and country

< 1000: Unconcentrated Markets;

1000–2000: Moderately Concentrated Markets;

> 2000: Highly Concentrated Markets;

 Four firm concentration ratio (CR4) per country

The combined market share of the four biggest firms active in the market and country

0: Perfect competition;

0–40: Effective Competition;

40–60: Limited competition;

> 60: Dominant Firms with limited competition;