The fundamental model we teach MBAs for thinking about manufacturing is the value chain, a simple model that describes the value adding steps that take a low value material like iron ore and turn it into a high value product like a Ferrari Testarossa.

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For high value manufacturing, product variety is the single biggest driver of cost as it dictates the material requirements and inventory, which is typically over 80 percent of the total cost.

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Today, the farmers in that village are growing high-value crops, because they have new markets in which to sell their product.

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The paradigm goes: invent a new product based on a new technology that creates new value for customers, price it high to capture the value, market it aggressively, and make lots of money.

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One is that a product can now claim to be high in long-chain omega-3s, yet be of questionable value because it also contains high levels of omega-6 fatty acids.

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