hershey, smuker, hotyson are hi and trading at record numbers. others in the group aren't as appetizing. courtney regan tells us why. >> reporter: the average u.s. supermarket carries nearly 40,000 different products, including national and private labels brands. getting consumers to choose one product over another is nothing short of a monumental task for food makers. many of the century hold food companies are topping the shopping lists of both consumers and investors. despite the attraction of lower prices on grocers private label brands. >> by offering innovative new products and by supporting their brands with marketing, these big companies are better able to fend off the threat of private label alternatives. >> reporter: companies like jm smuker and hershey have huge budgets to offer promotions and blast with advertising to make sure shoppers know about new products and remember old favorites. in audition to stable sales growth, food company stocks are relatively low risk. as a group, food company stocks are up 30% so far this year, betteri