As a student of markets, I love to know the size of categories. Total annual sales. Some call it the universe. It’s always one of my first questions when planning. Warren Buffet probably likes to know this data when he invests in companies.  The catsup market, for instance, was probably on his mind this last quarter as he planned to buy half of Heinz.

The amount of money Americans spend on food is beyond computation. That’s all food, including beverages. Of that total amount how much do you think is attributable to “healthy” products? Not too much. Spinach is healthy, but not when smothered in cheese, refined flour, butter, salt and, let’s say if we’re down south, a teaspoon of bacon grease.  One third of Americans are obese. When obese people talk about their proclivities towards fries and pies, they understand their eating habits aren’t healthy. But our culture does not emphasize healthy eating.

It should.

And it will. 

But there is not a lot of money in it. And the money thing is what makes entrepreneurs take notice. Once devices and streaming media saturates the U.S. and the populace is 40% obese, smart school kids will focus on the healthy food market. And healthy preparation. It will be a transformative period indeed. Can’t wait. In the meantime, pass the catsup. Peace.