The K-shaped economy

The K-shaped economy is creating new challenges for food companies. The traditional strategy—once built around a broad, stable middle class—has effectively collapsed. 

Companies that previously sold to the masses now need to deploy two distinct playbooks: one for cash-strapped shoppers and another for higher-income consumers buoyed by rising stock markets.

Higher earners have the “ability to invest” when promotions hit. They can buy 10 of an item on sale because they have both the liquid capital and the physical space—large pantries or even second freezers—to store it. 

Wall Street Journal 26 February 2026

https://www.wsj.com/finance/stocks/how-the-k-shaped-economy-plays-out-in-grocery-aisles-dc29121c

What is a K-shaped economy?

https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2026/02/bessent-kill-line-and-k-shaped-economy.html

In the 1960s and ‘70s, the US had a robust middle class, and the national income distribution looked like a bell curve. 

https://englundmacro.blogspot.com/2026/02/think-us-economy-is-unfair-blame-upper.html