Commodity Gilding Fattens Margins

A business trend to watch during the next decade is the “upscaling” of commodity foods. Milk, eggs, coffee, soy, frozen vegetables—even macaroni and cheese—are being recast as upscale specialty foods in an effort to entice consumers and improve sagging margins.

If you are what you eat, nobody wants to be a staple, especially in a strong economy. So gilding staples and moving them upscale creates the best of both worlds—familiarity and status. It also enables processors to improve margins. Bottled…