High times for low carb
New food products, grocery stores and restaurants are catering to a growing number of people following the Atkins lifestyle.
By CATRINE JOHANSSON
The Orange County Register
Thirty years ago, people laughed at Robert Atkins. Nutritionists snickered at the high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. The American Medical Association snarled, calling it "potentially dangerous" and "biochemically incorrect." Congress even held hearings.
When Dr. Atkins died in April, he had barely had time to enjoy how his once-shunned eating ideas have been embraced by at least 12 million people in the United States and how a new food industry has sprung up around the diet: grocery stores, food manufacturers and restaurants dedicated to low-carb foods.
"This is part of a larger trend where people are more interested in better-for-you products," said Michael Diegel, director of communications for the Grocery Manufacturers of America in Washington, D.C. "It is among the fastest-growing categories we have in foods."
Sales of better-for-you products - which include low-carb foods - increased by $400 million to $5.9 billion in 2002, according to a study done by the Grocery Manufacturers.
Sales were down until 2001, Diegel said, when obesity awareness and attention to diets increased sales by $100 million to $5.5 billion.
HOW INTEREST IN LOW-CARB FOODS HAS GROWN
1972: Dr. Robert Atkins releases the book "Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution."
1989: Atkins founds Atkins Complementary Formulations, which makes vitamins and supplements.
1997: Atkins Nutritionals starts making low-carb foods. Now the brand manufactures about 100 items.
1992: "Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution" comes out. It's been on the New York Times bestseller list for six years, selling more than 14 million copies. It's also one of the top 50 best-selling books of all time.
2001: Sales of health foods such as low-carb foods break a downward trend and increase by $100 million.
2002: Sales of health foods increase by $400 million, to $5.9 billion.
2003: Low-carb beers, such as Rolling Rock's Rock Green Light, and Michelob Ultra arrive on store shelves.
2004: Adolph Coors Co. and other beer makers plan to release their versions of low-carb beers.
LOW-CARB LIFESTYLE RESOURCES ON THE WEB
lowcarbluxury.com
Has low-carb chat rooms, a restaurant guide and information for beginners.
carbsmart.com
Sells low-carb foods, including kosher items.
lowcarbeating.com
Has chat rooms, recipes and scientific research.
greenbeanz.com
Sells low-carb foods, offers advice and information.
atkins.com
Offers information from Atkins Nutritionals, which makes a range of low-carb foods, and the Atkins Center for Complimentary Medicine.
What is possibly the first Orange County all low-carb grocery store opened in Huntington Beach five months ago. Called CarbSmart, it offers some 1,000 products that the owners sold on their CarbSmart.com Web site for about five years.
A former e-commerce strategist with Gateway, Andrew DiMino started Carbsmart.com after he lost 50 pounds on the Atkins diet. Now he plans to open three more stores in Orange County and a low-carb cafe next to his Huntington Beach store early next year.
"It should never be called a diet," DiMino said, noting that business had at least doubled every year, but wouldn't give a dollar amount. "It's a lifestyle."
The store doesn't carry low-carb diet staples such as eggs or meat. It carries low-carb versions of previously forbidden foods such as bread, pancake mix, syrup and cookies.
Colleen Brown, 58, of Huntington Beach, an assistant vice president with Wells Fargo, had been on a low-carb diet for about four months when she cooed over bags of sugar-free Gummi Bears during her first visit to the CarbSmart store.
She squealed as she found bread, syrup and cinnamon sweetener.
"Now I can make French toast for breakfast," Brown said, hugging a loaf of low-carb bread. "If I have to eat one more egg, I'm gonna lose it."
Brown's French toast may be a nice change from eggs, but it will be an expensive one. Most low-carb food manufacturers are still mom-and-pop operations, so prices are usually much higher than regular products. Brown's loaf of bread cost her $6. She remained unfazed.
"Price is not an issue when you are faced with eating eggs every morning for four months," Brown said. "I'm excited I found this place."
While less critical than 30 years ago, the medical community would still like to see Brown curb her enthusiasm.
Eating low carb is too extreme and too difficult to keep up long term, said dietician Julie Walsh, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. The mantra of fewer calories in and more out is still the preferred method, she said.
"It doesn't matter if the calories come from soda or bacon," Walsh said. "It's still calories."
Rick Schott disagrees. He lost 100 pounds on the Atkins diet in 1996 and has lived a low-carb lifestyle since then.
"Tell the medical community they need to get over it," said Schott, 50. "Their inability to wake up is responsible for the rise in diabetes and obesity across the globe today."
Schott's own weight loss prompted him to leave his cell-phone retail business and open Castus Low Carb Superstores in Northern California in 1999. Additional stores will be franchises, Schott said, describing how he plans to open 200 stores by the end of next year; 20 could be in Orange County.
ON STORE SHELVES NEAR YOU:
Here is a selection of grocery items from about 1,000 available at the CarbSmart store in Huntington Beach compared with similar items from Albertsons:
• Carbsense Bread machine mix 9 oz. $5.99 - Krusteaz 21 oz. $2.69
• Keto Spaghetti 8 oz. $4.99 - American Beauty 16 oz. $1.39
• Keto Ketchup $5.39 - Heinz 14 oz. $1.79
• Atkins Brownie Mix 12 oz. $6.39 - Betty Crocker 17 oz. $2.89
• Walder Farms Pancake Syrup 12 fl. oz. $3.99 - Torani Syrup 12.7 fl. oz. $4.59
• Ketogenics’ Low Carb Pancake Mix $8.49 - Betty Crocker Complete Pancake Mix 6.75 oz. $0.99
• Keto Hot Cereal 8 oz. $6.49 - McCanns Irish Oatmeal 12.5 oz. $4.59
As the smaller grocery stores such as CarbSmart and Castus multiply, established grocery stores have picked up on the sales potential and are increasing their low-carb offerings - something that might eventually bring down the prices.
Albertsons used to have only a handful of "controlled carb" items on its California shelves. Now it has 200. Traditional food manufacturers are entering the ring too, launching low-carb beers, chocolates and entrees.
As the low-carb food industry proliferates, it may suffer from the same growing pains as the low-fat craze did a few years ago, said Diegel of the Grocery Manufacturers.
"What is low carb?" he asked. "There are no standards, just like there weren't any standards for low fat."
Restaurants are also trying to cash in on the low-carb trend, said Ronald Paul, restaurant expert with Technomic in Chicago. More menus show fat grams and carbohydrate counts for each item, he said. "We're finding a demand for it, so restaurants are responding with less breads and potatoes," Paul said.
Even some fast-food chains cater to the low-carbers. In-N-Out Burger, for example, offers its hamburgers "protein style" - wrapped in lettuce instead of in a bun.
The latest restaurant in Orange County to give a nod to the low-carb lifestyle is Pomodoro Cucina Italiana, which opened Tuesday in the Newport Coast Shopping Center. The Pasta Pomodoro chain, based in San Francisco, serves five no-pasta items on the menu and offers a low-carb pasta with all its dishes.
"We're not in the business of deciding what people should be eating," said Adriano Paganini, president and founder. "But we give you plenty of choices."
At the Center for Culinary Development in San Francisco, experts have followed the growth of the low-carb industry for years. It's well on its way to becoming an integrated part of the mainstream food industry, said Marc Halperin, founding partner and culinary director.
"The food industry has begun to understand that the American consumer is more involved in understanding what is in the diet," Halperin said. "It's not a diet anymore; it's a lifestyle shift in the way we eat."
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