View Single Post
  #1  
Old April 4th, 2005, 03:13 PM
Preesi
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default As Low-Carb Craze Wanes, Atkins Revamps Its Diet

Updated: 02:43 PM EST
As Low-Carb Craze Wanes, Atkins Revamps Its Diet

NEW YORK (March 23) - Atkins Nutritionals, which championed a dieting
craze that made millions of Americans shun bread and other
carbohydrates, wants a do-over.

As the low-carb fad fades, Atkins has altered its "net carbs" method by
using parts of the latest trend from Europe -- a glycemic-index diet --
to target U.S. food companies for products bearing the new "net Atkins
count" seal.

The new label has appeared on Atkins nutrition and breakfast bars since
January. Atkins says the method more accurately gauges a dieter's blood
sugar response to foods, and subsequent weight gain, and is far more
precise than the net carbs subtraction method.

"We see this as the standard and the next generation for measuring net
carb and blood sugar impact," said Matthew Wiant, Atkins' chief
marketing officer.

Atkins says current partners HP Hood LLC and CoolBrands International
Inc. (CBAsva.TO) are excited about coming up with new product lines
using the new methodology.

Ronkonkoma, New York-based Atkins, which has seen sagging sales of its
packaged products and just pulled the plug on its British subsidiary,
said it may even go after Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT.N) -- which has a deal
with an Atkins rival, the South Beach diet.

But food analysts say the bloom is off the rose for low-carb names like
Atkins, as consumers have dismissed it as a fad that got rid of weight
at first, but was unsustainable.

"What Atkins is saying is that this is the new way of doing things,
which is the same as saying the old way wasn't that good," said Bob
Goldin, executive vice president with food industry research firm
Technomic. "They're so well identified with net carbs that it may work
against them because it can confuse people.

"The aura has definitely left Atkins, so they're a lot less valuable as
a corporate partner," he added.

About 26 percent of Americans are trying to shed weight, 4 percent of
those on a low-carb diet -- down from 9 percent in January 2004,
according to data from The NPD Group, a New York-based market research
firm.

Atkins, sensing that it was losing currency with dieters, took the cue
for the change from British food company Tesco PLC (TSCDY.PK), which has
melded the glycemic index into its line of foods, said Ken Harris,
managing director at consumer products and retail consultant Cannondale
Associates.

Harris was more optimistic that Atkins could pull off the switch than
some other diet industry experts, as he noted that dieting by following
the glycemic index is much more sustainable than the net-carb way.

"Atkins is doing the right thing. But if Tesco hadn't done this, there'd
be nothing. Atkins has its work cut out for it," Harris said. "Will it
save the company? It's hard to tell. But they've got a reasonable shot
at making it work."

Among U.S. companies that could partner with Atkins are ConAgra Foods
Inc. (CAG.N) or PepsiCo Inc. (PEP.N), he said.


03/23/05 10:37 ET


--
preesi
~~~~~~~~~
"The Meek Shall Inherit The Earth?
Yeah, after The Strong Kick The Enemies Asses For You Cowards!"
~~~~~~~~~
My Websites: http://tinyurl.com/yvw45
Where I Hang Out: http://www.there.com
Lets go surfing together: http://www.lluna.de/
My Pogo and AIM name: PreesiGirl
(Come play with me)