Atkins diet tastes good to retailers

Dallas Morning News ^ | 05/26/2003 | MARIA HALKIAS

[NotQuiteCricket]

Now, food companies and retailers are hoping for similar happy results by focusing on products that fit the Atkins plan. But some of those sales gains are coming at the expense of companies whose foods aren't Atkins-friendly.

:VERY LARGE BREAK IN ARTICLE:

A low for carbs

The Atkins boom worries companies that depend on carbohydrates – such as pasta, tortilla and bread makers.

Pasta consumption is still growing, but hardly at the carbo-loading inspired rates of the 1980s, according to American Italian Pasta Co., the largest U.S. pasta maker.

"Our industry would be growing faster if not for the Atkins diet," said Tim Webster, president and chief executive of the company, based in Kansas City, Mo. "I've seen no other diet's effect be as substantial."

The Tortilla Industry Association addressed the threat head-on this month in a seminar titled: "An Industry in Crisis: The High-protein, Low-carb Diet and Its Effects on the Tortilla Industry."

Wheat flour consumption started dropping after 1997, when U.S. consumption hit a peak of 147 pounds per person. Last year, that figure fell to 139 pounds, said Judi Adams, president of the Wheat Foods Council in Parker, Colo.

"I like to equate what's happened to the industry to the book The Perfect Storm," she said. "Everything is hitting the industry all at one time."

Milling & Baking News executive editor Josh Sosland also used a nature metaphor to sum up the flour industry's problem. It "is in the middle of a hurricane right now," he said.

The industry is responding with low-sugar breads and low-carb pastas, but that's not the answer, Mr. Sosland said.

"When you look at headlines, it's horrifying for the industry," he said. "People are saying horrible things about refined flour. At the last meeting of the American Bakers Association, the industry committed to educating consumers. They've decided they're going to fight back."

The bread industry needs to remind people "it's making the staff of life, feeding Americans folic acid and doing more to prevent birth defects than the March of Dimes," Mr. Sosland added. "The industry knows it's making a wholesome product. It's frustrating."

Beefing up

The beef industry, on the other hand, is celebrating.

After declining steadily in the 1980s and much of the '90s, the industry saw consecutive quarters of increased demand during the last half of 1998. Beef sales have gone up for 12 of the last 14 quarters.

U.S. per capita consumption of beef in 2002 was 64.4 pounds, up from 62.9 pounds in 2001.

"Attention on high-protein diets has prompted the consumer to discover, or rediscover, the health benefits of protein," said Shalene McNeill, senior manager of nutrition communication at the Texas Beef Council, which represents 140,000 Texas cattle producers.

Richard Wortham, the council's executive vice president, said beef sales have been aided by "an industrywide focus to tell our science-based nutrition story" and the introduction of more convenient beef products.

[HELLRAISER II]

What you say is very true, however speaking from experience that this diet will work for anyone, it's a scientically proven fact that your body can't help but lose weight eating all this protein while keeping your carbs at a 20 gram minimum per day. Now I understand that everyone simply can't stick to the diet plan which is typical for alot of fad diets. But again I say to you that this one will work if you can stick to the plan, how many of the other diets can make that claim.

[lelio]

Atkins makes a snack bar that's pretty good; it does say 21g of carbs on it, but excluding all carbs that are good / pass through you (like fiber and some other one) its only 3g. I eat a couple a week, pretty tasty.
Its good to see the food industry adapt to changing times; for if it was like the airline one a previous poster mentioned, we'll start to bail out the Big Carb companies in a couple of years for their poor decisions.
I wonder if the dairy industry is feeling the affects of the Atkins diet. Personally I don't like milk and avoid it as I'm a little lactose intolerant. I recall a dairy exec saying that a report that Asians can't digest milk being a racist comment. No, they just don't have cows over there. Besides, milk is for babies!

[lelio]

Food manufactures are sneaking in glycerine
I thought a carb had to be counted no matter what. Atkins breaks out their carb count removing fiber and some other one (I think it begins with an "a") as those don't raise your blood sugar.

I would like to see a Glycemic Index number on foods too. But that seems like it varies based on the individual.

[SamAdams76]

What's more, pretty much everything labeled in the supermarket as "low fat" or "reduced fat" is not good for you to eat in the first place. And yet, people eat more of it, thinking that be eating "low fat" products, they are eating healthier.

You can tell a lot about a person by what is in their supermarket. Recently I had in front of me in line an obese housewife with two whining and fussing kids tugging at her. Her cart was overflowing with stuff like Hershey's chocolate milk syrup, Oreo Cookies, Cheese Curls, Doritos, pastries, snack food cakes and tons and tons of soda. Apparently her idea of home-cooking was Elio's Frozen Pizza and Kraft Macaroni-and-Cheese. Yes, she paid with food stamps.

[Reeses]

Last week, it announced its newest product, Atkins Endulge Ice Cream.

I tried it and am disappointed. It is pricey, is in small portions, and is not as close to a premium ice cream as it could be. Homemade ice cream made with a Splenda based syrup is much better. Spenda does really well in cold foods, has similar properties to real sugar. I don't know why Atkins used sorbitol in their new ice cream. Atkins himself wrote that sorbitol should be avoided. A real ice cream made with Splenda instead would sell really well.

[Wolfie]

This article is from a bodybuilding website. It sums up the issue nicely. It may or may not be a big deal, depending upon your goals.

Important Info For Carb-Conscious Dieters

[Aquinasfan]

Recently I had in front of me in line an obese housewife with two whining and fussing kids tugging at her. Her cart was overflowing with stuff like Hershey's chocolate milk syrup, Oreo Cookies, Cheese Curls, Doritos, pastries, snack food cakes and tons and tons of soda.

My wife works part time as a check-out clerk and she has seen this over, and over, and over...

[Aquinasfan]

A real ice cream made with Splenda instead would sell really well.

Try Blue Bunny brand available at Walmarts with food centers. I tried the "Rabbit Tracks" flavor which was delicious. Very creamy and virtually indistinguishable from the real thing.

[Old Professer]

Indulging in gluttony is the most fun you can have alone without going blind.

[.38sw]

I have actually seen a very large woman standing in line at the supermarket eating from a package of non-fat cookies she had opened while waiting in line. She was telling her friend that she could eat all of them she wanted because they had no fat!! The label on those things tell a story - they are filled with sugars like high-fructose corn syrup to replace the fat, and are in the neighborhood of 140 calories for 2 small cookies. Sugar, no protein.

[3AngelaD]

That's a great article. Trust the FDA to screw things up and make them more difficult than they need to be. I noticed since the FDA doesn't know what it's doing about carbs, food manufacturers who do are forbidden to give consumers the information.

The little calculator is cool, too.

[McBuff]

This one is really different. I am NEVER hungry! I don't crave sweets or carbs of any sort. I am steadily losing weight and I feel great!

It used to be about lookin good for the ladies, now its about lookin good for the grandkids!!

[chicagolady]

Great info on the link!

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Know of any one who makes a no-sugar Sherbet?

[Maximum Leader]

The Fast Food Company that comes out with the Low-carb hamburger bun is going to make much money.

Hamburgers without the bun are a good Atkins meal (cheap too), but it would make life easier if there were an Atkins-friendly bun.

[PianoMan]

Good news: that option is explicity available at Burger Heaven restaurants. I got it and it was pretty good - although I couldn't resist ordering a chocolate shake with the meal. :(

[PianoMan]

What I'm *really* hoping is that these low-carb products will start to get a little cheaper from all the increased competition!

[PianoMan]

Does anyone know a registration that works for Dallas Morning News?

[bribriagain]

"The Tortilla Industry in Crisis" to be funny."btw have you heard of the Chet Atkins diet?

You play his record over and over and it makes you want to throw up.

[bribriagain]

"People not eating as many tortillas? MUST BE RACISTS!!!"

It's a clear cut case of diet profiling.