The Upper Crust

Everybody loves bread! Fresh in-store bakeries sales top $15 billion. Subway, baking fresh bread daily, is the nation’s seventh largest restaurant chain, with sales of $3.5 billion. Creative crusts have added a new competitive element to the $30-billion-plus pizza business, specialty breads top the list of most purchased gourmet food items, and “wraps” and “hot pockets” have provided lucrative natural packaging options for today’s portable fare.

Bread has also gained importance in restaurants. In…