The Change Mariner

Low-Carb Boom Isn't Just For Dieters Anymore

New York Times:

Marc and Connie Foreman are not on the Atkins, South Beach, Zone, Lindora or any other low-carbohydrate diet.

Yet here they were, waiting for a table at T.G.I. Friday's, a restaurant they have only driven past for 25 years, because Mr. Foreman had seen a commercial earlier in the day advertising one of its Atkins-approved menu items, a New York strip steak with blue cheese (broccoli, no fries).

"I won't cut out carbs completely," said Ms. Foreman, a teacher, "but when you think about your diet -- the bread, the potatoes, the pasta -- it makes sense to cut out that stuff."

Low-carb mania has spread beyond the millions of low-carb dieters. Food industry analysts say a far greater number of people are now "carb aware," even carb-phobic, cutting out those foods not as a way to lose weight, but because of a general sense that they are unhealthy. That is prompting changes in the way food is made, packaged and sold like nothing since the early 1990's, when even nondieters began loading their carts with low-fat yogurts and snacks.

"A year ago, if you asked consumers what they watch, 11 percent would have said carbs," said Michael Polk, chief operating officer at Unilever-Best Foods, which recently introduced 18 low-carbohydrate versions of items like Skippy peanut butter and Ragu tomato sauce. "Today if you ask, 40 percent of consumers say they are watching carbs. In our opinion, this has evolved into a major shift in consumer behavior."

The growth has even outpaced the government's ability to regulate the products and their labeling. Since 1999, 728 products that claim to be low in carbohydrates have been introduced, according to the Global New Products Database of Mintel International Group, a market research company.

Posted by Bob King at February 19, 2004 05:19 PM | TrackBack
Related Categories: Industry - Food | Quadrant - Political | Quadrant - Social | Theme - 'Obesity Epidemic'

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