http://pennlive.com/business/patrio...48909276770.xml

CONSUMER AFFAIRS
Going low carb
Vendor plans diet-friendly snack machines
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
BY DAVID DeKOK
Of The Patriot-News

A common frustration faced by people trying to lose weight is that when the need for a sensible snack hits, food in vending machines at the office or hotel are typically loaded with fat, carbohydrates and sugar.

A Hershey man with a background in the vending industry hopes to change that with a fleet of coin-operated machines that will be among the first in the nation to offer approved low-carbohydrate snacks for the growing legion of disciples of the Atkins and South Beach diets.

"I'm trying to give options," said Robert Grosh Jr., president and CEO of Low Carb Vending LLC. "We're not exclusive with anyone. Atkins wanted to be exclusive, but we didn't do that."

Atkins products, however, will be available in his fleet of vending machines, along with those from MBT, Carb Solutions, Carb Wise, EAS, SlimFast Low Carb and other prominent suppliers of diet foods.

"Low Carb Vending machines allow consumers to conveniently obtain Atkins low-carb products," said Matt Merson, director of national accounts for Atkins Nutritionals. "We are able to offer and deliver healthy Atkins products conveniently to the consumer when they are hungry and on the run, and in branded vending machines that let them know exactly what type of products are inside."

Grosh's background in the vending industry has given his new company instant credibility and backing. He is the former president of High Food Services Ltd. in Lancaster and was once vice president of corporate operations for Service America Corp., a $1.2 billion vending operator and contract food-service company based in Stamford, Conn.

His business plan calls for making deals with local vending-machine operators around the country, such as Covenco or Canteen Vending.

That raised a question in the mind of Timothy Sanford, editor in chief of Vending Times, a magazine in New York City that covers the vending industry. If local vending companies perceive a need for low-carb snacks, why don't they just go ahead and offer them? But maybe they don't want the bother.

"This may be the opportunity that Grosh sees," Sanford said. "If he has a turnkey program and can tell them, 'I'll put it in and deal with it,' it might work."

Sanford, who was familiar with Grosh's background in the industry, said most vending-machine companies are quite willing to give the public what it wants, if that can be determined.

Grosh said he will offer vendors either the complete Low Carb Vending machines or the option of trying out a few low-carb snacks in their existing machines and putting his trademarked Low Carb label in the window.

"We are suggesting, pull your five slowest movers and put these in," he said.

So far, Grosh has installed his vending machines at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, Marriott International headquarters and the NBC News Washington bureau, all in the Washington, D.C., area. He said there is interest in his machines and offerings from around the country.

Pure Foods LLC of Beverly Hills, Calif., announced in early March that it is starting a similar business. A Reuters story said the company was negotiating with an unnamed hotel chain to put 480 low-carb vending machines in 60 hotels.

"They're not a vending operator like me," Grosh said. "They just got into low carb. They have two health-food stores but no machines out yet."