Wow, tough call, I was back and forth on this one. Was it cinnamon, persiflage, yuba? Or some other rare product sucked out of the earth in Orwellian named Democratic Republic of Congo?
Well, none of the above, and those of you who are adept at puzzles and prestidigitation know where I am going with this.
That’s right: It came down to one thing with at least two meanings.
Dough.
That was the top ingredient this year.
From pizza to bread to croissants to pretzels to doughnuts to sandwiches, the big boom in 2018, which will herald investment in years to come is: Flour and water. OK, add salt, be my guest. Anyway, FLOUR is the big ingredient this year, 2018, and that’s because it has, next to coffee, the greatest profit margin in the food and beverage industry.
If you look at your “local” bakeries and pizza joints, you will find that the non-franchise outfits are either: Fewer in number; about to go under; and, unable to compete in marketing or pricing with international brands.
Which is the second meaning of dough.
The #1 franchise in the U.S. in terms of growth in 2018 was pizza. That pie you buy–“artisanal, gourmet, healthy, natural”–for between $12-$28 has a food cost about 90% less per slice.
Folks, the food world is where the music world was in 1972: Undervalued, in the early-middle stages of monetization, and not so much about the taste of things, but about the sale of things.
And that’s not persiflage.
