Go With the Low
Hear everyone talking about the low-carb revolution, but think it's too late to get in the game? Don't worry--there's still plenty of opportunity to profit from America's newest obsession.
Fighting for headline space right along with the presidential
election and celebrity woes, low-carb has become one of the most
talked about topics at home, at work and with friends and
acquaintances. The low-carb buzz, spearheaded by the Atkins diet
and a handful of similar weight-loss plans, has boosted sales in
traditional food industries such as meats, eggs and nuts. And it
has turned a once-quiet specialty market into a burgeoning empire
of low-carb products and services that has businesses cashing in on
carb-conscious dieters. The timing is still ripe for entrepreneurial newcomers--as
The Valen
Group, a strategy consulting firm for Fortune 500 companies,
discovered in a recent study. According to the survey, 59 million
U.S. adults are controlling their intake of carbohydrates, and more
than 40 million others said they were considering a low-carb diet
in the next 12 months. Collectively, those figures are fast
approaching half of all U.S. adults. While competition in the low-carb industry has indeed increased
in the past year, especially with major companies jumping on the
bandwagon, there are plenty of opportunities to get in and start a
business catering to the picky palettes and pocketbooks of these
watchful consumers. Carbolite Foods Inc., for one, is a once-small
operation that has rocketed to a projected $150 million in 2004
sales, thanks to its Carborite line of low-carb candy and assorted
goodies. (For more on Carbolite, see last month's
"Carb Your
Enthusiasm.") Clearly, low-carb dieters are gobbling up
products that allow them to taste low-carb versions of what would
otherwise be off-limits, and Gus Valen, CEO of The Valen Group in
Cincinnati, says demand is outstripping supply. Content Continues Below
For low-carbers, it's not just a diet, it's a full-blown
lifestyle. For entrepreneurs, it's an industry rife with
possibilities. For those who've already taken the plunge,
it's clear there's a hunger to be satisfied. Dean Rotbart
began the first industry newsletter, LowCarbiz, in July 2003
and has seen the number of subscribers soar to more than 1,400
since he started requiring paid subscriptions in September. And
when Rotbart held the first low-carb industry summit in Denver in
January 2004, more than 500 attendees--ranging from the likes of
Frito-Lay Inc., Kraft Foods Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to
entrepreneurs--turned up to discuss issues and opportunities
surrounding the growing industry. With so many restaurants and food
manufacturers joining the ranks of smaller operations in offering
low-carb options, Rotbart thinks the stir among Fortune 500
companies to take action won't endanger the opportunities out
there for entrepreneurs, but will actually reinforce and
authenticate the market. "It's good news for the
entrepreneur that Fortune 500 [companies are] validating [that] it
will be an industry for years to come and not just a flash in the
pan," says Rotbart. "Their very movement into this
creates a self-fulfilling prophecy."
Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 
|
Brewing Big (With a Micro Soul)After 18 years of growth and with annual revenue about to break $100 million, Kim Jordan still maintains New Belgium's freewheeling spirit.
|
Magazine Resources
|