"Atkins World", Fortune Magazine, January 12, 2004

When
tatasnutfitional
didcarbs
rcplace
enemy *aenn"
pork-rind
l{0.1?
What
itmean
does
furthe
indu$ry?
lsWonder
Brcad
And
what
toast?
the
heck
isketato?
How
low-catr
isruilingthe
mania
ByMatthew
fuod
Boyle
busines.
THE LEXUSRX-3OO-LICENSE
PLAIE EGGMANI-BARRELSWESTONROUTE30IN
Pennsylvania's
York County.We're on the road to Wellsville,a farm communityblanketed in December'sfirst snowfall.At the wheelof pcclraNl is PaulSauder,the thirdgenerationheadof R.W.Sauder,oneof the leadingeggprocessorsand marketersin the
Northeast,shippingoverthree million eggsa week.
Our destinationis the chickenhouseat the Eisenhowerfarm, oneof 80 farmsthat supply Sauderwith eggs.The housecontains47,000egg-layinghens-"layers"-stacked in
cagesthree high, sevenbirds to a cage,in six rowsstretchingback450feet. It is a relatively smallhouse;more modernoneshold 150,000birds.Still, the din of the chickens-a bit alarmedby visitors-and the stenchof their droppings,which simplyfall to
the basementbelow,are overpowering.The dim lighting-the birds would attackeach
other if it wastoo bright-suffuses it all with an eerieglow
Today95.6%of the flock haslaid an egg,which is "fabulous,"Saudersays(75% to
80Vois the average).Salesat Sauder'sretail accountsare up by doubledigits, and the
wholesaleprice of eggshasnearlydoubledthis year.It's a good dayfor eccMANt.Fab-
6
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4
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94 . F ORT U NE Januarv12.2004
PHOTOGRAPHSBY KRISTINE LARSEN
cereal
ATKINS
liarariGEttrrrtEGt
qr,* w
i_
ffiFT[]ffiE,ltr.T-re
It-
lffiffiI ffimHWffi
PROTEIN
MANMianRiazat Texas
A&M'sFoodProteinR&DCenterusesan extruderto makelow-carbversions
(right)of commonfoods.
ul/)Lrs.
\'i)u might say.But then, it's a fabuk rg5,t i6g to be in the egg business.Or the
i r t r ' I l . u s i n e s s .T h e n u t b u s i n e s s .T h e
c irr.tc st:-'husiness.What's the connection?
\\'irl tl,,rAtkins diet, of course.
T h i r . t vy e a r s a f t e r D r . R o b e r t A t k i n s
publishcdhis first diet book, low-carbohyclratctlieting-or as its devoteescall it, the
'
il)w-ciur) lifestyle"-has planted its hooks
irrrhe .\:nericanzeitgeistand refusesto let
go. It was derided for years as a pseudoscientific fad, but in the past few years it
has swept the country, partly becausesome
recent studies have supported its efficacy
while allaying short-term hcalth concerns,
and partly becausemillions of low-carb dieters have quickly shed pounds afier failing to do so by other means."l've been doing Atkins for two years now, and I cannot
say enough good things about itl" raves
Amanda Mitchell, 26,anMCl marketer in
Arlington, Va.
The extent to which Atkins and its lowcarb imitators-Protein Power, South
Beach,the Zone-have pervadedour consciousnessis downright scary.Editors at the
O$ord English Dictionary are considering
addingan entry for'Atkins." Is your cocker
spaniel tubby? You can now buy low-carb
pet food. Need to get away from it all'l
Spend a week at an Atkins Diet Retreat.
While there, wearing your EATMEAr Nor
wHEAr thong ($9.99), tune in to QVC's
Low-Carb Hour, or flip through the latest
edition of Dr Arkins' New Diet Revolution.
a book so powerful that it supplantedHarry
Potter as the No. I read in England. When
a dead Muggle cardioktgistbests a wizard
on his home turf. there's magic in the air.
Before diving into the Atkins phenomenon, a disclaimer.This story will not try
to judge whether Dr. Atkins was right or
wrong. The jury's still out on that one.
Rather it is a dispatchfrom Atkins World,
a chronicle of the euphoria and panic that
low-carbmania hasinstilled in the business
c o m m u n i t y ." I d o n ' t s l e e pa t n i g h t a n y more. I'm not kidding." saysTodd Hatoff,
EVP at meat seller Allen Brothcrs in
Chicago, who has had to rewrite his catalog three times in six months to accountfor
spiralingbeef prices,which protein-mad
dietersare happily goosing."I'm 33. and
I've just gotten an ulcer."
The Atkins effect goesfar beyond meat.
influencing much of the $587 billion food
industry. Sixteen years after the Surgeon
General made fat public enemy No. 1, the
American consumer-fatter than ever in a
low-fat world-has turned a bilious eye
o n f o o d s l i k e b r e a d a n d p a s t a .T h e r e sponsehas been leavenedwith panic. The
American Italian Pasta Co. has launched
a low-carb pasta under the Atkins brand,
and at the same time its CEO, Tim Webster,presidentof the National PastaAssociation, plans a conference in Rome to
position regular pasta as a "good"carb.
In contrast,purveyorsof proteinare
cleaningup.Salesof carb-freeMacNutoil.
madefrom Australianmacadamia
nuts.
havedoubledeveryquartersinceits January 2003launch.The stockof Cal-Maine
Foods,theleadingU.S.fresh-egg
producer.
wasup over800Volastyear.The cheddar
makersat Cabotin Vermontjust hadtheir
bestyearever.And "beefisbackin vogue,"
saysC. Larry Pope,COO ofpork andbeef
processor
SmithfieldFoods.
Companies
likeAtkinsNutritionals,
Carbolite,CarbSense,
and Keto FoodsintroducedAtkins-friendlypackagedfood at a
rate of almosttwo productsa daylastyear,
accordingto Productscan
Online,which
tracksthe packaged-goods
industry.They
sell their wares at low-carb specialty
stores-the Low Carb Mall, Castus,Viva
Low Carb-that aresproutingup likeweeds
(some250at lastcount).Meanwhile,at
food-sciencelabsacrossthe country,researchers
arefiguringout how to takethe
carbsout ofjust abouteveryproductweeat.
It's anybody's
guesshowbig thismarketis,
but LowCarbiz,an industrynewsletterthat
hatchedlastJuly,estimates
thatit couldhit
$20billion(includingdietbooks)thisyear.
In the pastyeartheseAtkins-inspired
firms haveventuredout of mom-and-pop
health-foodstoresandinto thebig leagues
of Americanretail. In doing so,they are
b u m p i n gu p a g a i n s ti c o n i cA m e r i c a n
brandsmadeby food giantslike Kraft,
Atkins-inspircd
firms
haue
uenturcd
out0fhealth-food
storcs
and
intothehigleagues
ofAmerican
retailing.
96 . FORT U N E January12.2004
ATKINS
ConAgra,andNestld,which are scrambling of the ordinary-for New York, anyrray.
But as you move from one circle of
to figure out whetherlow-carbis a fad or a
guests
to the next,a singletopic dominates
trend. If this is all going to fizzle in two
low-carbliving. Not surthe
conversation:
introduce
to
years,shouldtheyevenbother
in ten adultshavemade
four
prising,
since
before.
burned
been
products?
They've
new
(RememberKellogg'shigh-fiberEnsemble at leastsomeeffort to cut carbsin the
brand, madefrom heartypsyllium-seed pastyear.But this is more than the usual
husk?Of coursenot.) If demandstays Atkins smalltalk. It is a low-carblovefest.
strong,cantheycraftnewproductsto meet If you lobbed a bakedpotato into this
it? Or will theysimplygobbleup firms like crowd,the effectwouldbe like a grenade's
Carbolite,which hashired Morgan Stan- -you'd clearthe placeout.
At one table, the culinary director of
ley to field buyout offers? (Atkins NutriTuesday'sravesabout the 30 new
Ruby
So
up.)
snatched
been
tionalshasalready
far, few big brandshavemademuch noise low-carbitemsthat Ruby'sjust addedto
in the low-carbmarket-Heinz's One Carb the menuat its 650casualdininglocations.
Ketchuphits storesin January-but that's "We evenhaveSplendain our sugarcaddies,"shesays,speakingof the lunch's
not to saynothing'sgoingon.
The low-carbohydrateera is breathing sponsor,a sugarsubstitute.
Let's
Wait. What the heckis SPlenda?
newlife into someold companies.Launched
here.
back
in September2002,Anheuser-Busch's take a step
with whichAtkins
Despitethevehemence
MichelobUltra beergavethe stodgybrewdefendtheir podetractors
and
supporters
one
jolt.
about
to
sell
Projected
a
ing world
million barrelsin 2003,it tripled that and sitions,both sidesagreeon one point: The
forcedrivalslike Adolph Coorsand SAB- American food supplyis overloadedwith
likewhiteflour,white
simplecarbohydrates
Miller to playcatch-uP.
especiallythe highsugars,
and
added
rice,
Where
the
line.
on
are
dollars
Billionsof
theywill go is anyone'sguess,but it's clear fructose corn svrup found in soft drinks,
OFAN
INSEARCH
ALTERNATIVETOSUGAR
SACCHARIN
CYCLAi,IATE
Addedsugaris a maiorsource
of carbs.Thiseaily substitute
is still soldas SweefN Lour.
It wasbannedin the U.S.
in 1970 aftera study
foundbladdertumonin rats.
ASPARTAME
Betterknownas NutraSweet,
it wasputon the maPwhen
DietCokeaddedit in 1985.
cannedravisweets,saladdressings--even
oli. Americansarecatchingon, and56Voof
consumersmadea strongeffort to curtail
their sugarintakein 2002,accordingto one
sidebars
study.In fact,oneofthe fascinating
to the Atkins phenomenonis the convergenceof the low-carbanddiabeticmarkets.
havesiblings
(Manylow-carbentrepreneurs
SWEETSMELLOFSUCCESS or parentswho arediabetic.)
Splendais a perfectexampleofthat conIt's lunchtime at the Park AvenueCaf6
Approvedfor usein all food and
vergence.
Smartly
on Manhattan'sUpperEastSide.
by theFDA in 1999,it iswhatyou
beverages
i
n
n
i
m
b
l
y
m
a
n
e
u
v
e
r
w
a
i
t
e
r
s
dressed
the tight space,holding aloft platesof get when you removethree of the hydrotastyhorsd'oeuvres.Womenair-kissand gen-oxygengroupsfrom a sugarmolecule
tradebusinesscards.So far, nothingout and replacethem with chlorineatoms.
that the smart moneyis gettinginto this
game.Mighfy Wal-Mart-America's largestgrocer-is reportedlyplanningto launch
a low-carbstorebrandsometimethis year.
wouldsayonly that
(AWal-Mart spokesman
"this is an areaof opportunity.")
sucRAtosE
Approvedin 1999 and
marketedas Splenda,it is
ridingthe low-carbtidal wave.
The result,genericallyknownassucralose,
is very sweet-about 600 times sweeter
than sugar.(Aspartameis only 180times
sweeter.)More important,it is remarkably
stable.(Onecomplaintaboutaspartameis
that it losesflavorunderhigh heat.)Due to
its molecularmakeup,sucraloseis not metabolizedand doesnot raiseblood sugar
andfor that
levels,unlikesomesweeteners,
reasonit hasbeenendorsedby low-carbadincludingAtkins.
vocates.
Food and beveragemakerscan't get
enoughofit. Splendais nowfoundin about
3,000products:Diet RC cola,Starbucks
Lite Frappuccino,a light versionof Coca-
ufappruual
aseal
bestows
trademark
IheSplenda
prudusts
Insidel'
to"lntel
akin
0nlow-caft
1'2,2004
98 . F ORT U N E JanuarY
ti*:T
.j
*
s
1
q.l
.K
&
an instructorat Johnsonand Walesculinary school,which is hostingthe summit.
A former seminarystudentwho dropped
out to pursuebreadbaking,Reinhartsays,
"You haveto becomereligiousabout the
about."
thingsyou'repassionate
breadindustry
The $11.4-billion-a-year
couldsureusesomepassionright aboutnow.
After peakingat 147poundsper personin
1992U.S.consumptionof wheatflour fell to
about137poundslastyear.Breadbasketsin
restaurantsacrossthe U.S.remainunmolested.Ron Shaich,CEO ofbakerycaf6PaneraBread(seeInvesting),saysthe low-carb
trendiscostinghimz% to 37ain same-store
saleseachmonth.It's no surprisewhy:Accordingto the bread industry'sown research,40Voof Americansatelessbreadlast
year than the year before. "Our products
havean imageproblem,"saysJudi Adams,
presidentof the WheatFoodsCouncil.
The busride overto Johnsonand Wales
isuneventful,but oncethere,thingsliventrp
quickly.TV cameras(includingthosefrom
NBC'sDateline)in the main amphitheater
I
are trained on a panelofbread industry
who sit at a tablebearinga carexecutives
? bohydratecornucopia-scones,
muffins,
every
shape
andsize.
pastries,
loaves
of
and
?
Perhapsa catchytag line would bring
peoplebackto bread,an audiencemember
I
"We'reon that.We have'Whole
suggests.
grains
meal,'" repliesKirk O'Donat
every
=
nell of the AmericanInstituteof Baking.
That'snot exactly"Got milk?" but it's a
OceanSprayLight, Diet Gand unveilsher latestSplendacreations, start."We don't promoteourselvesaswell
Cola'sPowerade,
pannacotta asthebeefanddairyfolks,"saysO'Donnell
V8 Splash,Light HawaiianPunch,Blue whichincludeanorange-vanilla
Bunnyicecream,andSwissMisshot cocoa and chocolate-peanutbutter cookies. lateron in the hallway."It bothersme a litmix.If youbuya Diet Cokein Japan,you've "Splendais like a newlanguagethat came tle." (In caseyou didn't notice,November
got Splenda.This month Splendawill ap- into my life," sheraves,explainingthatit has wasNationalBreadMonth.)Butwhatbothpear in new low-carbdrinks from Snapple allowedher to maketastydessertsfor the ershim moreis how Americanshavehung
'.A'--do not eatwhileon Atkinslow-caloriecrowdat her Chicagorestaurant, a scarlet
and Tropicana.
whoseclienteleincludesOprahWinfrey.If aroundall breads.In truth, onceyou get
But Splendais more than an additivemanufacOprahcansenda book'ssalesto the moon, past the restrictiveearly phases-where
Low-carb
brand.
it's a bonafide
breadis verboten-the Atkins approach
turerslike Carboliteput the Splendatrade- imaginewhatshecoulddo for Splenda.
doesnot condemnall breads,onlyhighlyremarkon theirproductlabels,whichbestows
fined white breads,bagels,andhamburger
a sealof approvalakin to the "Intel Inside"
buns that causespikesin blood sugar.
LIFE
STAFF
OF
a
logo. At retail, Splendanow commands
marketshareaboutequalto that of its two Providenceis not smilingon the breadin- (BurgerchainssuchasHardee'sandIn-NR.I.,as50- Out nowofferburgerssansbun.)It tookthis
low-caloriecompetitors-Equal (aspar- dustry.At leastnot Providence,
tame)andSweet'NLow (saccharin)---+om- odd peopleworkingin the U.S.breadin- countrydecadesto learnthe differencebeand
IRI. dustry wake up to a damp and drearY tween "good" (monounsaturated)
bined,accordingto marketresearcher
it's
no
surprise
that
(saturated)
fats,
so
to
the
"bad"
down
and
shuffle
November
day
globalize
the
brand,"
"Our intentionis to
our newdietary"demon,"carbs,areall besaysColin Watts,presidentof McNeil Nu- lobby of the historicBiltmore Hotel.
They're here to attend the first annual ing tarredwith the samebrush.
tritionals,a subsidiaryofJohnson& JohnTo answerthe negativespin on bread,
son,whichmarketsSplenda.Like the other summit of the newly formed National
the
NBLC releasesa studysayingthat a
of
a
coalition
Leadership
Council,
Splendafolks,Wattstalksof it in termsof a Bread
Americans"
of "knowledgeable
majority
hopes
that
and
suppliers
retailers,
people
bakers,
how
"We're
redefining
movement.
to bread." havea negativeperceptionof the Atkins
saysonemarketingexec "to restorepeople'sconnection
look at sweetness,"
Thosewordscomdfrom PeterReinhart, diet.The surveyhammershomethe point
at the Splendaluncheonin New York.
Secondslater,hotshotpastry chef Gale authorof TheBreadBaker'sApprenticeand of the summit,which is to educateAmer-
t''
J a n u a r1v 2 . 2 0 0 4F O R T U N E ' 9 9
ATKINS
icansaboutcarbsandcorrectthe "crisisof
consumermisperception,"as one NBLC
spokeswomanputs it. And, of course,to
providesoundbitesfor the eveningnews.
Privately,however,manyof the attendees
saythey could do without the surveysand
soundbites. They seelow-carbnot as a
threatbut asan opportunity."I'm not in the
educationbusiness-I'm in the breadbusiness,"saysAlbert Haase,who is currently
developinga reduced-carbbreadmadewith
soyflour for his Breadsmithbakeries.
Unlike, say,candybars,breadis hard
(and expensive)to make low-carb.You
could take an early versionof low-carb
breadand squeezeit, and it would return
like a spongeto its originalshape.And let's
not eventalk aboutthe taste.By replacing
carbswith proteinslike soyflour andwheat
glutens,you loseboth tasteand texture.
But most breadmakerswould rather go
low-carbthan seeanothercustomerwalk
pasttheir door."When demandis sogreat,
it leavesus little choice,"Haasesays.
At lunch-another carb fiesta-Haase
tradesnoteswithMike Basile,CFO of Great
HarvestBreadCo., which now offerslowcarbbreadthroughabofi15Vo of its 175
It's notjustsmallspecialtybreadfranchises.
makers,either.Panerawill introducethree
lower-carbbreadsthis year.Baking giants
like GeorgeWestonBakeriesand Flowers
BakingGrouphavemadesimilarmoves,and
beleagueredInterstateBakeries,makerof
WonderBread,is preparingto releaseone
earlythis year.If launchinglow-carbbread
is a "gimmick-a desperationmove,"asone
memberof theBreadBakers'Guild believes,
then color the breadindustry desperate.
CARBOUNLOADING
30%
d
change
indollarsales
One-year
I
c
z
I
fords. ".
Lower-carb
c
2
d
I
o
z
20%
o
c
n%
which were madewith a faux
fat calledolestra.But health
concernsabout olestradelayed
the nationalrollout, and Wow
missedthe window.Likewise,
by the time Kraft and its ilk are
readyto selllow-carbitemsto
shoppers,their attentionmight
be elsewhere.
Finally,for a diet food to becomea brand,it hasto standfor
something
besideslosingweight.
ConAgra'sHealthy Choiceaccomplishedthat,with a message
that conveyedhealthy living.
Can Atkins Nutritionalsdo the
same?"Atkins is a diet," says
brandingguru JonathanAsher.
"It couldbe a brand,but it's not
thereyet."
llf,e
!?sc?E;
andhigher
PROTEINDREAMS
E
-n%
Pretzelsalessoared.Salesofoat-brancerealrcse2157oin oneyear.Meanwhile,food
companiesscrambledto providelow-fatalternativesto, well, everything.By 1995one
out of everyfour new food and beverage
productsmadesomekind of low-fatclaim,
accordingto Productscan(seechart).The
problemwas,mostof themtastedhorrible.
Out of thislow-fatprimordialsoup,some
sturdybrandsemerged,like ConAgra's
FATFORTHOUGHT
We'veseenthis desperationbefore.When Healthy Choice,Stouffer'sLean Cuisine,
Their success
the SurgeonGeneralhandeddown his and Nabisco'sSnackWell's.
edmammoth7[2-pagenutrition study in wasmainlydueto theirbeingsomewhat
1.988,
it calledon Americansto drastically ible. (It's the taste,stupid.)Somelessons
reducethe amountof fat in their dietsand learnedduring this period now applyto
increasedietaryfiber.Headlinesscreamed low-carb.
a trend.SnackFirst,don'tunderestimate
FArINTAKE:
THEKEyro wnIcgr r-oss.Diets emerged,such as the T-Factor diet, Well's ran into productionproblems,and
that you couldig- the companyhadto apologizeto a national
whichblithelysuggested
nore caloriesas long as you kept your fat TV audiencein 1993.Similarly,Atkins Nugram intake to a minimum. 'As the carb- tritionalshasreportedlyangeredseveralreyou get thinner peo- tailersby not being ableto keep shelves
to-fat ratio increases,
ple," crowedMartin Katahn, Mr. T (Fac- stockedwith its barsandshakes.
Next,don't be late on a trend.Frito-Lay
tor). The diet got pluggedbyL.A. Law star
hadhigh hopesfor its Wowbrandof chips,
SusanRuttan. and awavwe went.
If you really want to seewhere
low-carbis going,headto Los
Alamos.No, not the top-secret
nuclearlabin NewMexico.This
Los Alamos is in New Jersey,
not far from rocker Jon Bon
Jovi'smansionin Middletown.
Unfortunatelythere'snot much
to see,becausethis Los Alamos
is lackingin somecritical infrastructurefor starters,a ceiling.And doors.
The skeletallab is currentlyunder construction,alongwiththerestof Keto Foods'
newSQ00O-square-foot
headquarters.
With
salesgrowingat a 300Voclip, Keto, like
manylow-carbcompanies,
hasoutgrownits
currentenvironsand is movingto snazzier
digs nearby.The new headquarterswill
proudtydisplayKeto'slow-carbproducts,a
from 140to2l2by
stablethatwill increase
the endof 2004in morethan40.000stores.
includingKroger,GNC, and Walgreens.
The productline includesnot only the usual
assortmentof shakesand barsbut also
spaghetti,frostedflakes,andfive flavorsof
"ketato" mix, which promisesthe "tasteof
lusciousmashedpotatoes."
And that'showCEO Arne Beywantsit.
For the pastfive yearshispassionhasbeen
to makelow-carbfood with the tasteand
textureof regularfood. "When I hear,'It's
not thatbad,'it pissesme off," Beysays,offering a visitor a chocolateKeto shakein
lieu of lunch."My goal in life is to hear,
and
squeeze
it,
sflow-carb
brcad
aneady
uelsion
You
take
could
retum,
spongelike,
toitsori$nalshape.
itwould
ma$cally
and
102. F ORT U N E Januarv12.2004
A T K IN S
'Wow-is this really low carb?'And the
Holy Grail is'I wouldeatthis stuffevenif
it wasn'tlow carb."'
It's no easytask.For example,unlike
proteinsdon't playwellwith
carbohydrates,
water,which is necessaryfor most food
production."Proteinturnsto cement,"Bey
says."We'vebrokena lot of expensiveequipment."Keto hassevenpatentsin theworks,
includingone that Bey callsthe "Rosetta
stone" of low-carbfood technology:a
processto makeproteins"walk and talk"
on a molecularlevel.
like a carbohydrate
Bey is not alonein his quest.At the Texas
A&M Food Protein R&D Center,professor Mian Riaz is pushingprotein to its
limits. Over the pastsix months,majorfood
companieshavepaid his researchteam to
experimentwith soy proteins,which are
found in a host of low-carb foods.
The price tag for one project can reach
$70,000.And clients expect a lot for their
money."Theywant everythingzero-carb,"
Riazsays."sometimesit is possible.Sometimesit is not."
First you need to pump up the protein
content in the soybean.That's doneby extractingthe oil, sugars,?ndfibersfrom the
soy in a seriesof stepsthat increasethe
youwith
proteinfrom 38Voto 907o,leaving
soyprotein "isolate," as it's called,which
you can makestuffwith.
When you take the starchycarbs out of
a snack-Cheetos, for instance-and replacethem with pure protein, a Cheeto
ceasesto be a Cheeto."With starch,you
havepuffy. With protein, you lose puffy,"
Riaz explains.To recapturethat puffiness,
Riaz usesmachinescalled extrudersto expand the protein and addsspecialderivativesto smooththe texture andmouth feel.
But it's not just a texture problem-you
alsoloseflavor."Proteinsdon't tastegood,"
he says,so Riaz addsa flavor to mask the
soybean'staste.Then he addsanotherover
that to get the taste he's after-cheese,
meat,whatever.Riaz workswith flavor deGivaudan,
velopers,suchasGeneva-based
who know what flavorswork best in different situations.Snapple,for instance,when
decidingwhat flavors to usein its new lowcarb drink-which containssoy proteinfound that blueberryworkedbestwhile apple didn't work so well. (Snappledid not
work with TexasA&M.)
But backto Keto. Grabbinga strawberry yogurt bar off one of his production
F
BAKERPeterReinhartbattlesa lossof faith in bread.
EVANGELIST
lines,Arne Beymunchesfor a bit, ponders, A NEWDIETARY
ENEMY
then chideshis staff: "I want this a bit
Beygetsa bit too deep 30% Percent
softer."Sometimes
...
claiming
ofnewproducts
into his products:Late onenight his wife
caughthim at hisdesk,simplystaringat a
bottleof low-carbketchuP.
d
z
o
T
o
c
AFTERATKINS
When Dr. RobertAtkins died this past
April at 72, afterinjuriessustainedfrom
slippingon a patchof ice in front of his
Manhattanmedicalpractice,one obvious
questionarose:Who would fill the void?
Well,if Atkins wasthe fatherof low-carb,
perhapswe shouldfind its mother.
That maywell be Fran Gare,64,a former NewJerseyinterior designerwho was
a closefriendof Atkins'sfor morethan20
years,co-wrotefour cookbookswith him'
and hascreatedher own line of low-carb
with
andbakingmixessweetened
desserts
Xylitol, a sugarsubstitute.(It's extracted
from corncobs,and Gare imports three
truckloadsa monthfrom China.)
Gare keepsa pretty low profile-her
salesareonly$5million.But shesaysWalMart is talkingto heraboutusingherproductsin a low-carbstorebrand."I'm the
motherof low-carbbaking," shesays.
Gare believesshe'sthe true keeperof
her mentor'slegacy.Shespentplenty of
time on the defensivein the 1970s-"we
were all calledquacks"-so now shefeels
justified going on the offensive."Some-
fat
Less
2
o
=
z
F*w*r*nr1@
1990
1995
2000 2003
body hasto step up-I owe that much to
him," shesays.Gare rails againstcharlatanswho arekeento makea quickbuckoff
thisfad: "It's a realcrisissituation."
At the sametime, Gare acknowledges
that thewholelow-carbfrenzyis muchbiggerthansheeverimagined.Whenshegot
her latestroyalty checkfor the Atkins
bookssheworkedon, "I almostfell off my
chair."Hold on tight, Fran.And the restof
y o u - f r o m e g g m a k e rtso s u g a rf a k e r s .
breadbakersto proteinshakers-should
hold tight aswell. Fad or trend,low-carb
eatingis givingall of us a wild ride. E
r esoeacx mboyle @fonu nema il. com
putf$'
you
prutein,
Rizexplain
putfy.Ulfith
you
lose
"Wrth
haue
$arch,
makers.
food
furlow-carb
Ihisisapruhlem
104. F ORT U N E JanuarY12,2004