My favourite brand of soap had vanished from the supermarket shelf.

I searched high, I searched low, but to no avail.

A few months earlier my preferred shampoo also was axed.

What's going on, I wondered. I soon realised dreaded market forces were at work. My soap and shampoo of choice were not manufactured by one of the global conglomerates, so couldn't compete and secure a reasonable slice of the buying action.

A bit of research revealed the extent of backroom wheeling and dealing for shelf space that goes on between supermarkets and the super manufacturers.

Like any good real estate, it's all about location, with the shelves at adult eye-level the most desirable (unless you're selling lollies, in which case you leverage down to child height).

It's a dog-eat-dog world out there - but don't start me on the dog food.

Oh, I know supermarkets are not charities - they have to make a quid or two (how about $1.29 billion for Woolies last year) - but do they have to dictate what soap I use?

My partner has long been warning me against buying the generic labels that are taking over the shelves. No Homebrand or $martbuy for us; only the real deal, especially when it comes to supporting our dairy farmer neighbours.

But now supermarkets are moving higher up the food chain with their Select and Finest ranges offering better quality at a lower price than the big brand names. And as grocery prices escalate, it's all too tempting to save a few cents here and there.

We've seen it with petrol. To begin with, I saved my shopper dockets and fell into line at the appropriate petrol station.

But then I worked out I was only saving a little over a dollar and decided I had better things to do than queue for 10 minutes.

Now Woolies have launched a loyalty card to make it easier for us to get our 4[PI9014]Centsymb a litre fuel discount, with the inducement of 10[PI9014]Centsymb a litre off the first time round.