I can't believe that the big name grocery stores have not picked up on this trend of low carbing. If they carried all of the (low carb)products that were available, it would be one of the most productive departments in the store! PLus the pricing would be better, and variety, and most of all, QUALITY would improve!

Half the people I know are on this "diet". Not just for weight loss, but because they FEEL better, and have more energy.

So I'm emailing all of the stores in my area, and pleading with them to carry these products - or more of them if they already have some.. Atkins has his line in a lot of them, but the pricing is ridiculous. And Keto - well, their mac n cheese is about the worst waste of $5.00 I ever spent. Can't we have some good tasting food & baked goods without having to make it ourselves, or pay way too much for it?

I'm tired of having to order online, or drive 30+ miles for what I want. It's about supply & demand. If we demand, they'll supply. Please email your grocery stores - we'll all win!!!!

yayadayle

yayadayle,

I totally agree that we should be talking, writing, emailing and communicating with our grocery stores which ever way possible to have them carry more low carb products. And not just the quasi products like bars, shakes, candies, etc. I would like to see more meats like bacon without nitrates or sugars. I would like to see things like Almond Butter or Macademia Butter.

I have to say this, I am impressed with Publix. When I first started Akins last June, they did not have much. Every week, it seems like they have added something new. Or maybe, I am just paying better attention. A couple of months ago I noticed they make their own peanut butter in the deli section. Want to know the ingredients? Peanuts! That's it! Pretty cool, huh?

So please all, speak up. Did your grocery store start carrying something because you asked? Please share your stories. Would love to hear.

Great post Yaya!

Great idea!!! Why didn't I think of that a LONG time ago?!? I WISH I had some stats that would indicate what percentage of the population is now into low-carbing!!

that's a great idea! I just emailed my local Safeway. Hope it works!


Sheri

Great thread!!!! I'm in the lowcarb food manufacturing business, and I can tell you....the times they are a'changing. :-) Even though it may not seem like the big chains are catching on, they are. It just takes time to move new products into those markets. We are talking to a few brokers about the major chain drug stores and supermarkets. Here are some tips for making your voice heard. Get to the buyer. Most of the clerks and customer service agents don't really care what we want, sad to say. But the buyer does!!!
So, climb up the chain of command until you get to speak with or email the actual buyer for your region. Another good way is to go in and speak to the manager. (they always think you're going to complain about something so they are relieved when you ask for new products! LOL) When I owned my lowcarb store I stocked lots of products just because of customer requests. But you have to talk to the right person.
Go get 'em!!! :-) And while you're at it please ask for Gram's Gourmet Lowcarb products! LOL
Julee

Thanks for the great idea!

I just emailed Save on foods, Safeway, and Loblaws (Superstore, PC products) asking them to please carry low carb products, and diet soft drinks with splenda!!

Natascha

Natascha.. Do you have the email addies handy? I'll do the same!

Gristedes finally has Diet Rite! Thank you and good night!

I also found Food For Life (?) Low-Carb Bread at Whole Foods. I swear that wasn't there last time I looked. I could be wrong.

They're coming around here in New York... slowly but surely.

My local Winn-Dixie already carries some stuff. They have Atkins, Carbolite, and Sugar Busters Products. The Atkins and Carbolite are rather limited: Bake Mix, Shakes, and Bars. They have alot of Sugar Busters, but they are too high in carbs for Atkins.

I would like to see them carry Sugar-Free Hot Dogs. Currently, the closest they have is Nathans which contain Sorbitol. Albertsons has LC Peanut Butters, but they also contain Sorbitol. They have Soy Butter...but, there is something seriously wrong with the label. It says 5g Total and 4g Fiber. But, when you do the calculations in your head...the calories figure to 5g net carbs, which is as much as regular PB.

My biggest wish is that someone would stock a soup with No MSG and No Sugar. It is one or the other currently. I can either get soup with No MSG, but 1g of Sugar or Soup with No Sugar, but loaded with MSG. I chose neither. I won't eat any Glutamate/Aspartate containing foods. But, I can't have the alternative, becuase is loaded with Sugar.

It would also be good if they'd stock Daikon. They don't stock Daikon or Califlower, so I didn't get a chance to try Daikon until I was out of town and have yet to try Cauliflower. The one good thing they do have is Unsweetened Soy Milk, which I cannot find in any other non-health food store. Oh, and Stevia would be a nice addition to the Shelves. Currently, I have to pick up a bottle when I visit my parents, because the only Stevia I've found in P'Cola has fillers added. The reason I went with Stevia was to avoid the fillers used in Sucralose and Saccharin.

After loosly organizing a group of "beggars" and schmoozing the managers, my GNC ordered in a TON of new lc products!

I wish I was independantly wealthy, but saved quite a bit on them with the Gold Card.. I got LowCarb Success Granola (pretty good!) "Just the Cheese" snacks, Ketogenics muffin mixes, LowCarb Success hot cereal, and saw so many new low-carb mixes and shakes that I just stood there gawking! I was suprised to see that after my discount, it was CHEAPER than online, especially since there was no shipping to pay for.

I hit the supermarket. (Mind you I only get to this town 65 miles away about twice a month for the things I can't get here in the middle of nowhere!) Aside from finding Diet Rite, a sale on pork rinds and bacon, they had low carb tortillas! The garlic ones smell so strong even THROUGH the plastic, I'm scared... I tried the plain ones, and they'll do... I guess I'll have to "doctor them" a bit, like maybe deep fry a taco salad bowl or something.

Three different stores even got coconut oil in...

I guess if enough people do some begging, it works!

I haven't been able to find a thread on this, even using the search feature, so if this has been done/overdone, please forgive me.

What I want to know is in regard to lobbying a local chain grocery to carry more (MORE!!) LC products.

A competing store even closer to me has many LC products I can purchase, but their standards in other areas are low and I don't like their philosophy ... so I rarely enter the door.

I have already e-mailed the main buyer for the store I like, and received a message saying they'll "take my suggestion under consideration", but I think it's a run-around.

Anyone have a suggestion for tactics on this issue?

Thanks!

I went in to my "usual" store and spoke with the day manager in person. I provided brand names and sizes for some of the products I really wanted and pointed out that I knew of enough families in the store's demographic area that had LC members who would buy.

Not much change, except that two weeks later they did start carrying the La Tortillas, and they recently expanded their Atkins section in the diet aisle. (more in response to another nearby grocery which has embraced LC in their advertising and have a much improved selection; if it weren't for their upscale pricing I'd shop there more...)

s.

That is super, I have been working on the local stores here but so far no luck.... : (

Rishamoon,

You might want to check out the local support group forum for Indiana. Not sure where you live but I posted some info for stores in Indy.

Marsh is finally starting to get in on the act. They featured 6 LC products in last week's ad, too bad they only stocked 2 of them. I called to complain since I drove out of my way to 4 of them for LC Pasta for $2.99 (I know every one said they are gross but...)

I also found faux honey at Meijer, haven't tried it yet!

Your post gave me an idea, and that is to contact the store I like with my requests (I have a list!) and see what transpires while at the same time request that the competing store advertise a bit more on their "Specialty" section.

Being that the stores check out each other's advertising, this may be a good start. If the advertising takes root, my favored store can't possibly stay away from expanding LC goods, most notably because they have the floor space and the other is jam-packed (no pun intended) with stuff, much of which is not even food.

Thanks for the angle!