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DIET FAD $TARVING US FIRMS
NY Post | May 16, 2004 | STEPHANIE O'BRIEN
May 16, 2004 -- Dr. Atkins' disciples are eating major food companies alive. The low-carb diet trend is turning the stomachs of the makers of traditional staples like bread and pasta, who are blaming their shrinking profits on shrinking waistlines.
America's No. 1 pasta producer, New World Pasta, the maker of leading brands Ronzoni and Prince, filed for bankruptcy this past week, joining a growing list of food companies who say they're being killed by carbs.
The company says its sales plummeted to $330 million last year - down from $400 million in 2001 - as more people turned to low-carb diets like Atkins and South Beach.
Doughnut king Krispy Kreme predicts its earnings to be 10 percent lower than originally expected this year; the maker of baked goodies like Twinkies and Yodels says its sales are down 2.5 percent; and Florida orange-juice makers are fighting a 5 percent sales dive.
Even once-popular diet products, which contain some carbs, are now on the outs, with Unilever's Slimfast shakes and other products experiencing a recent 30 percent sales plunge.
Duncan Yin, an analyst at CRT Capital Group, said the sea change in eating habits is having a "severe impact" on makers of pasta, doughnuts, rice and other products that have a high concentration of carbohydrates.
"This is a real phenomenon," Yin said.
Interstate Bakeries Corp., the nation's largest wholesale baker, whose brands include Wonder, Hostess and Drake's, blamed the "diet season" in an earnings report last month. "In this quarter, the height of 'diet' season, we believe the 'health conscious' marketplace was specifically focused on seeking out low-carb alternatives," the company said.
Pasta maker American Italian Pasta Co., which markets the Mueller and Pennsylvania Dutch brands, says it expects slower sales and profits this year. "AIPC believes that the current pasta market trends are principally the result of low-carb diets and broader carb consciousness among U.S. consumers," it said in a statement released last month.
The squeeze is also on orange-juice sales, with the Florida Department of Citrus reporting a 5 percent decline over the last three years.
At the end of last year, it commissioned a study that found 35 percent of respondents had "knowingly decreased" juice consumption.
Of those 35 percent, 26 percent said they had done so "because of diets," said Andrew Meadows, a spokesman for the FDOC.
NY Post | May 16, 2004 | STEPHANIE O'BRIEN
May 16, 2004 -- Dr. Atkins' disciples are eating major food companies alive. The low-carb diet trend is turning the stomachs of the makers of traditional staples like bread and pasta, who are blaming their shrinking profits on shrinking waistlines.
America's No. 1 pasta producer, New World Pasta, the maker of leading brands Ronzoni and Prince, filed for bankruptcy this past week, joining a growing list of food companies who say they're being killed by carbs.
The company says its sales plummeted to $330 million last year - down from $400 million in 2001 - as more people turned to low-carb diets like Atkins and South Beach.
Doughnut king Krispy Kreme predicts its earnings to be 10 percent lower than originally expected this year; the maker of baked goodies like Twinkies and Yodels says its sales are down 2.5 percent; and Florida orange-juice makers are fighting a 5 percent sales dive.
Even once-popular diet products, which contain some carbs, are now on the outs, with Unilever's Slimfast shakes and other products experiencing a recent 30 percent sales plunge.
Duncan Yin, an analyst at CRT Capital Group, said the sea change in eating habits is having a "severe impact" on makers of pasta, doughnuts, rice and other products that have a high concentration of carbohydrates.
"This is a real phenomenon," Yin said.
Interstate Bakeries Corp., the nation's largest wholesale baker, whose brands include Wonder, Hostess and Drake's, blamed the "diet season" in an earnings report last month. "In this quarter, the height of 'diet' season, we believe the 'health conscious' marketplace was specifically focused on seeking out low-carb alternatives," the company said.
Pasta maker American Italian Pasta Co., which markets the Mueller and Pennsylvania Dutch brands, says it expects slower sales and profits this year. "AIPC believes that the current pasta market trends are principally the result of low-carb diets and broader carb consciousness among U.S. consumers," it said in a statement released last month.
The squeeze is also on orange-juice sales, with the Florida Department of Citrus reporting a 5 percent decline over the last three years.
At the end of last year, it commissioned a study that found 35 percent of respondents had "knowingly decreased" juice consumption.
Of those 35 percent, 26 percent said they had done so "because of diets," said Andrew Meadows, a spokesman for the FDOC.
