nobimbo
Mon, Aug-08-05, 07:06
Atkins considers products with, yes, more carbs
Carbohydrate foe ran low on dough.
By Elizabeth Lee
Cox News Service
August 3, 2005
If the clearance stickers on low-carb foods hadn't made it clear that Americans had moved on to other diets, a bankruptcy hearing Monday for Atkins Nutritionals provided another sign.
Americans have lost their appetite for low-carb products so much that the company founded by diet guru Robert Atkins is considering introducing higher-carbohydrate foods to boost its mainstream appeal -- and its bottom line.
The proportion of Americans on low-carb diets dropped to 2 percent in July, down from 9 percent in February 2004, according to the NPD Group, a market research firm.
"Like any diet trend, low-carb hit a high point; then people got bored," said Marcia Mogelonsky, a senior analyst for Mintel International, a marketing research firm. "People tire very quickly of being told what they can and can't do, like being told you can't have bread, pasta and pizza."
Atkins Nutritionals, a privately held company, is reorganizing and plans to focus on products like nutrition bars and shakes and low-carbohydrate candy. The company, which cited $301 million in assets and $325 million in liabilities in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, has laid off about half its work force in the past year.
The company is considering changes that would move it away from what nutritionists criticized as an extreme diet that favored bacon, eggs and steak over fruits and carrots. Though it later offered low-carb versions of forbidden treats like potato chips, brownies, bread and candy, it eventually may drop its "original low-carb lifestyle" slogan from product labels, said Colette Heimowitz, vice president of nutrition information and education.
"We succeeded in bringing a carbohydrate awareness to the health-conscious consumer," Heimowitz said. "We hope in the future to appeal to a broad spectrum of health-conscious consumers, rather than just low-carb, by offering nutritionally superior products with higher protein, higher fiber, lower sugar, no trans fats and glycemic-impact tested."
Plans include designing products with higher carbohydrate counts, such as bars with fruits and grains, and a weight-maintenance menu to join the Atkins diet menu at the restaurant chain T.G.I. Friday's, she said.
The low-carb woes provide an opening for Weight Watchers and other diet plans that stress calorie counting and balanced meals, Mogelonsky said.
"Atkins is so identified with low-carb," she said of efforts to reposition the company. "I don't know how successful they're going to be. People have turned so against low-carb diets. It's like saying Dairy Queen isn't going to sell ice cream anymore."
Diet industry observers credit Atkins, who first offered Americans his promise of rapid weight loss in the 1970s, with changing the way Americans regard carbohydrates. Yet they say the company he founded faces different demands than it did during its boom in the past decade, when consumers snapped up 10 million copies of "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution."
The Atkins name became shorthand for any kind of low-carbohydrate diet.
Food industry giants started making low-carb foods, a competitive challenge that Atkins cited in its bankruptcy filing.
Sales of all low-carb-labeled products declined 4 percent in the second quarter of 2005, compared to the same period in 2004, according to ACNielsen, which provides sales data from many major retailers.
But Americans remain interested in losing weight. At any given time, about one-quarter of all adults are on a diet, often one of their own creation, according to the NPD Group.
No new diet has emerged as the hot replacement for low-carb, which includes variations like Miami cardiologist Arthur Agatston's South Beach Diet, said Harry Balzer, who studies diet trends as a vice president of the NPD Group.
Still, low-carb diets have had an impact on how many of us eat. Restaurant chains, school lunch menus and some packaged foods prominently list carbohydrate counts. And market researchers say more Americans are checking those labels.
New federal dietary guidelines allow fewer carbohydrate servings and emphasize consuming whole-grain products.
Losing and maintaining weight takes small but sustainable changes in how you eat and exercise, said Alice Lichtenstein, a nutrition professor at Tufts University and chairwoman of the American Heart Association's nutrition committee.
"You can't have your cake and eat it, too," Lichtenstein said, "whether it's high-carb or low-carb."
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050803/ENTERTAINMENT02/508030336/1007/LIVING&template=printart
Carbohydrate foe ran low on dough.
By Elizabeth Lee
Cox News Service
August 3, 2005
If the clearance stickers on low-carb foods hadn't made it clear that Americans had moved on to other diets, a bankruptcy hearing Monday for Atkins Nutritionals provided another sign.
Americans have lost their appetite for low-carb products so much that the company founded by diet guru Robert Atkins is considering introducing higher-carbohydrate foods to boost its mainstream appeal -- and its bottom line.
The proportion of Americans on low-carb diets dropped to 2 percent in July, down from 9 percent in February 2004, according to the NPD Group, a market research firm.
"Like any diet trend, low-carb hit a high point; then people got bored," said Marcia Mogelonsky, a senior analyst for Mintel International, a marketing research firm. "People tire very quickly of being told what they can and can't do, like being told you can't have bread, pasta and pizza."
Atkins Nutritionals, a privately held company, is reorganizing and plans to focus on products like nutrition bars and shakes and low-carbohydrate candy. The company, which cited $301 million in assets and $325 million in liabilities in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, has laid off about half its work force in the past year.
The company is considering changes that would move it away from what nutritionists criticized as an extreme diet that favored bacon, eggs and steak over fruits and carrots. Though it later offered low-carb versions of forbidden treats like potato chips, brownies, bread and candy, it eventually may drop its "original low-carb lifestyle" slogan from product labels, said Colette Heimowitz, vice president of nutrition information and education.
"We succeeded in bringing a carbohydrate awareness to the health-conscious consumer," Heimowitz said. "We hope in the future to appeal to a broad spectrum of health-conscious consumers, rather than just low-carb, by offering nutritionally superior products with higher protein, higher fiber, lower sugar, no trans fats and glycemic-impact tested."
Plans include designing products with higher carbohydrate counts, such as bars with fruits and grains, and a weight-maintenance menu to join the Atkins diet menu at the restaurant chain T.G.I. Friday's, she said.
The low-carb woes provide an opening for Weight Watchers and other diet plans that stress calorie counting and balanced meals, Mogelonsky said.
"Atkins is so identified with low-carb," she said of efforts to reposition the company. "I don't know how successful they're going to be. People have turned so against low-carb diets. It's like saying Dairy Queen isn't going to sell ice cream anymore."
Diet industry observers credit Atkins, who first offered Americans his promise of rapid weight loss in the 1970s, with changing the way Americans regard carbohydrates. Yet they say the company he founded faces different demands than it did during its boom in the past decade, when consumers snapped up 10 million copies of "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution."
The Atkins name became shorthand for any kind of low-carbohydrate diet.
Food industry giants started making low-carb foods, a competitive challenge that Atkins cited in its bankruptcy filing.
Sales of all low-carb-labeled products declined 4 percent in the second quarter of 2005, compared to the same period in 2004, according to ACNielsen, which provides sales data from many major retailers.
But Americans remain interested in losing weight. At any given time, about one-quarter of all adults are on a diet, often one of their own creation, according to the NPD Group.
No new diet has emerged as the hot replacement for low-carb, which includes variations like Miami cardiologist Arthur Agatston's South Beach Diet, said Harry Balzer, who studies diet trends as a vice president of the NPD Group.
Still, low-carb diets have had an impact on how many of us eat. Restaurant chains, school lunch menus and some packaged foods prominently list carbohydrate counts. And market researchers say more Americans are checking those labels.
New federal dietary guidelines allow fewer carbohydrate servings and emphasize consuming whole-grain products.
Losing and maintaining weight takes small but sustainable changes in how you eat and exercise, said Alice Lichtenstein, a nutrition professor at Tufts University and chairwoman of the American Heart Association's nutrition committee.
"You can't have your cake and eat it, too," Lichtenstein said, "whether it's high-carb or low-carb."
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050803/ENTERTAINMENT02/508030336/1007/LIVING&template=printart