DIET WARS Low-carb craze proves a marketing juggernaut BY AMY HAWTHORNE

If not one of the estimated six million people on such diets as Atkins or South Beach, you may be among the 24.5 million folks who don’t officially diet but cut out bread or pasta in an effort to eat "healthy." Despite some misgivings from the medical community, Atkins has soared in popularity since it promises and delivers rapid results. Those on the program generally loose a lot of weight in the first few weeks before slowing down to come out even with dieters on other programs.

The Atkins people maintain that the weight loss is due to their suggested balance of carbohydrates, fiber, and protein that allow dieters to enjoy formerly verboten items like bacon and butter. Critics say those on the plan are actually just cutting back on calories without realizing it, while loading up on unhealthy fats and missing important nutrients from newly no-no items like fruit and vegetables. Although some studies have linked low-carb/high-fat diets with dangerously elevated estrogen levels and bone density loss in women, new users still flock to it in droves.

This ability to draw in new consumers is causing a serious shift in the economics of the food market. Bread and pasta makers, in particular, have loudly complained about a drop in consumption since the Atkins fad exploded a few years ago. A September 2003 article in Slate.com contended that convenience is the real force in driving consumers. Regardless of the explanation, supermarket shelves are stocked with products re-tooled or merely re-branded with newfound carb-consciousness. So if perception creates reality, carb-cutting marketing is in the driver’s seat.

Slim-Fast, the shake-based diet that had its 15 minutes of fame in the early ’90s, definitely believes in the economic behemoth that is Atkins. Not content to fade away to market share oblivion, the company has been constantly retooling its product line over the past decade to include snacks and pre-packaged meals. Corporate parent Unilever, reporting a decrease in profits for the subsidiary for the past two years, recently laid off roughly a third of the workforce at a Tennessee manufacturing plant. Unable to reclaim its segment of the megabucks spent on Atkins-style diet products, Slim-Fast eventually tried to have it both ways, offering a low-carb line of products while continuing to denounce the low-carb concept. Although the company declined comment, its Web site offers insight into this mixed message, asking, "If Slim-Fast doesn’t recommend cutting whole food groups, how can the company promote a lower carb plan?" The answer is an excellent piece of spin — the addition of low-carb shakes is just another option, similar to choosing chocolate over vanilla, or soy over milk.

Slim-Fast has thus far remained unable to stem the flow of diet dollars in the direction of Atkins. Without releasing specific figures, Unilever labeled Slim-Fast as "under-performing" when its second quarter 2004 results were released in July. Given the ongoing popularity of low-carb products, it seems highly unlikely that the Big A will lose its supermarket supremacy any time soon.