February 3rd, 2010
From low-carb beer to low-carb cheesecake, the Atkins Diet is altering the food landscape, all because of people like Ken Nowoc. Nowoc went on the popular, high-protein diet and lost 30 pounds. “No bread, no potatoes, no popcorn, no potato chips — all the things I used to love to eat, I just don’t eat anymore,” said Nowoc.
TGI Friday’s is one of a growing number of restaurants to join the low-carb craze. It’s teamed up with Atkins nutritionists to offer reduced carbohydrate meals. Ruby Tuesday has been at it for over a month with a smart eating menu that offers low-carb and low-fat choices. “Whether you’re substituting mashed potatoes for mashed cauliflower that we have that’s low-carb, or whether you’re substituting a salad bar for a steak, it’s about choices, so they can eat out with us more often,” said Sandy Beall, Ruby Tuesday Chairman and CEO.
Pure Foods Low Carb Market is getting ready to open in Santa Monica, California. It’s something of a personal crusade for the partners, who lost a collective 75 pounds on Atkins.
“There’s 35 million people right now on some sort of low-carb diet or lifestyle, and there’s not many markets like pure foods where they could actually go and indulge on great items and not feel like they’re depriving themselves,” said Brad Saltzman with Pure Foods.
All of this has been good news for companies that supply meat and eggs — their prices have soared. Nuts and cheese are also in demand.
On the losing side are snack and cookie makers, citrus growers, and the bread industry, which recently held a summit about falling sales.
Breadmakers are fighting back, though, with a low-carb offering that’s got sales on the rebound.
“When they got into the low-carb categories, they were able to reach their numbers back to where they were prior to the advent of the Atkins Diet,” said Nicholas Pyle, with the Independent Bakers Association.
Analysts say that’s just the point. What was once dismissed as a fad appears now to have reached a critical mass. And restaurants and food companies have little choice but to adapt.
“That tipping point was reached — perception was pushed over the edge where carbohydrates became the enemy. And while I’m certainly not of the belief that people are avoiding carbohydrates altogether, I do believe that people now think differently about consuming bread and pasta,” said Ted Zittell with McMillian and Doolittle.
The high-protein, high-fat content of the Atkins Diet and similar diets have raised some health concerns about cholesterol and kidney stones.
But so far that doesn’t seem to be slowing down the millions of people who are on these diets and losing weight.