As crazes go, Atkins and other low-carbohydrate diets are proving to have more staying power than most. In North America’s ongoing, unofficial War Against Fat more and more marketers have begun to provide consumers with, ahem, diet-appropriate weaponry.

Quick-service restaurants, packaged goods manufacturers and even beer companies are all wading into the market. Low-carb dieting is a much more significant trend in the U.S. than it is in Canada, to the point where sales of bread in the U.S. are down 6% in the last year. But while there has been little impact in Canada (see ‘Canadian bread sales,’ page 4), marketers are still choosing to be proactive and respond. According to 2003 survey data from PMB, 10.8% of Canadians aged 25 to 54 are dieting and the most common reason given is weight loss at 4.8%.

Wendy Evans, president of Toronto-based retail consultancy Evans & Company, says low-carb dieting is actually part of a triumvirate of health issues that also includes low-fat and trans-fat concern. ‘If [fast-food companies] don’t appeal to anybody on any of those fronts, they’re going to lose out,’ she says.

QSR Subway is taking the most high-profile approach among the involved marketers by co-branding two menu items (wraps) with Atkins under the ‘Atkins-friendly’ moniker. Les Winograd, public relations coordinator for the Milford, Conn.-based company, says research revealed customers wanted more choice. Subway found that 36% of consumers surveyed were following a diet and 34% of those were following a low-carb diet.

‘The products we are serving are for the most part already in our restaurants,’ says Winograd. ‘It was just a matter of coming up with the right combination and getting that Atkins endorsement, which put a lot of credibility on it.’

Ken Wong, professor of marketing at Queen’s University, agrees. ‘The one thing Atkins gives them is immediate impact and legitimacy. If Atkins falls out, it’s not that hard for them to remove the imprimatur. But they do gain a significant advantage in being the ‘accredited supplier.”

Subway backed the program with a TV campaign by Minneapolis-based Fallon Worldwide that broke Dec. 29 and will run to mid-February.

Burger King is also offering low-carb or ‘no-carb’ meals such as a ‘bunless burger’ menu in which consumers can have a whopper or grilled chicken sandwich without the bun and mayonnaise. However, the fast-food giant did not pursue explicit co-branding with Atkins.

‘It’s not necessarily promoting any specific diet,’ explains Lisa Brenneman, national marketing manager, research, new product development and public relations. ‘What we’ve done is responded to many of our guests being on low-carbohydrate diets.’

She describes the marketing as ‘low-key.’ The menu is being rolled out over January and February via in-store P-O-P, merchandising and word of mouth. It’s less flashy than the Subway launch because Burger King doesn’t want to be perceived as ‘telling consumers that low-carbohydrate diets are the ‘right’ way to go.’

Brenneman says the QSR decided it wanted to keep its own ‘have it your way’ branding so that it could outlast low-carb dieting should the latter fall out of favour. ‘We have this relationship with our consumers that we say, ‘you can have it your way.’ It’s not about specific types of diets.’

Compared to its competitors, McDonald’s is running somewhat behind in responding to the trend, although its Lighter Choices campaign was introduced in June 2002. It has made a low-carb product announcement, but has not finalized any marketing plans. According to Ron Christianson, corporate communications manager, McDonald’s will be introducing a ‘protein platter’ in ‘the near future.’ It will consist of a breakfast platter and two lunch and dinner platters, minus bread, of course.

Adds Christianson, ‘There will be meat options and vegetable and cheese on the platter as well. There’s a bit more to it because we want to maximize the offering to our customers. It’s not just a matter of the burger without the bun and putting it on a plate.’

Canada’s two largest breweries have also rolled out new brands that target the low-carb conscious. Molson is currently promoting its Molson Ultra – billed as the only regular-strength beer with fewer carbs – with a national TV campaign emphasizing the brand’s key point of difference. The effort also includes on-premise and retail promotions (displays and equity communication).

Tagged ‘give up only the carbs,’ the TV spot by Bensimon*Byrne, of Toronto, shows people engaging in various sporting activities. It’s a juxtaposition Rob Assimakopoulos, VP marketing innovation, says was a conscious part of the strategy. ‘What we’re showing in our ads is a lifestyle and a psychographic and demographic that’s reflective of the target beer consumer. Beer drinkers come in all shapes and sizes and have all different kinds of lifestyles.’

‘They’ve generated a lot of trial,’ says Bob Scott, principal of Toronto’s Ascot Marketing, of the low-carb brands. While he says those consumers include more than those only dieting, he strikes a note of caution as to low-carb beer’s longevity: ‘There’s no doubt that this will be a sub-category that will be with us for at least a year. But let’s see what happens when the next diet fad comes along to replace Atkins.’

Assimakopoulos admits there is a risk in responding to the low-carb trend, but says good research is the way to figure out whether it’s worth your while. ‘Any time you enter into a venture like this you have to consider what the long-term implications are,’ he explains. ‘And our research showed that beer drinkers, just like anybody else, regulate their carbohydrates at different periods of their life, whether they are or aren’t on a diet. So we weren’t pinning ourselves to any one commercial phenomenon out there.’

Not to be outdone, Labatt has also introduced its own low-carb product called Sterling. According to Nigel Miller, director of public affairs, formal and anecdotal research indicated consumers wanted fewer carbs but not at the expense of taste. ‘So we took the time to develop Labatt Sterling to make it both. It was really just an overwhelming trend in terms of the feedback we were getting.’

Labatt has actually tried to explicitly associate the brand with healthier living; the brand was launched late last year with a PR campaign, in which high-profile fitness instructors were enlisted as third-party spokespeople to endorse it as ‘part of a lower-carbohydrate lifestyle,’ says Miller.

He describes the TV spot currently running as primarily a branding campaign with the message that if you’ve adopted a low-carb/reduced-calorie lifestyle you can still have beer and keep a real beer taste. It’s running in traditional and non-traditional TV media and is scheduled to continue until the spring before being reassessed. ‘The focus is on a combination of self assuredness and a lifestyle message,’ he says.

That said, some marketers are better positioned than others to introduce low-carb products. Bruce Philp, president of Toronto-based GWP Brand Engineering, says a brand has to understand itself and how the consumer views it before deciding on the level of engagement it wants with a trend.

‘A brand has to understand how people relate to it today and then decide on the basis of that relationship whether the consumer would expect them to respond. With the popularity of the Atkins diet, it makes perfect sense that Subway, which has been beating the nutrition drum for a long time, would provide this as a service. The consumer is going to look at that brand and say, ‘Yeah, that fits.’

‘Whereas if McDonald’s or Burger King does it, the motive that’s imputed to that brand is completely different. The consumer is going to say, ‘They’re just desperate. They’re losing business and they’re trying to salvage it.’ Because the McDonald’s or Burger King reason for being – which you can’t erase from people’s minds – is so at odds with the benefit of an Atkins co-branded product.’

Canadian bread sales untouched by Atkins

Weston spins off low-carb extensions just in case

In the U.S. the impact of Atkins and related low-carb diets has hit the bread industry hard, with sales down 6% in the last year. For a mature category, a 6% hit is considered significant. But the story in Canada is much different, where sources say the effects of this latest craze have yet to be felt by the $3.2 billion industry.

‘Sales have not really moved in Canada, upwards or downwards,’ says Paul Hetherington, president and CEO of the Toronto-based Baking Association of Canada (BAC).

At bread maker Weston Bakeries, Geoff Wilson, VP industry and investor relations, says not only have sales not declined but ‘we’re seeing very strong bread sales in Canada.’

Maple Leaf Foods, owner of Canada Bread, which markets the Dempster’s brand, says the same. ‘There is no doubt that Canada Bread/Dempster’s is aware of the low-carb interest [among consumers] but the reality is we have not seen an impact on bread sales as a result,’ says Lynda Kuhn, VP public and investor relations, Maple Leaf Foods.

There is no movement at grocers either, with Kim McKinnon, VP communication for the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors, agreeing with the bread companies. She does add, however, that with QSR Subway and retail outlets selling Atkins diet products, awareness is building.

The industry is gearing up to meet the challenge. Most notably, Weston Bakeries has entered into a partnership with New York-based Atkins Nutritionals to market Atkins-branded breads and bagels. These were introduced to the Canadian market in January.

Wilson says that while there has been no impact thus far, his company was concerned about consumers eating less bread in the future. ‘There was a growing trend, and why not have a full offering [for] our consumers?’

Others are responding with different methods. Last September Dempster’s launched a Web site for the Whole Grains Bureau (www.wholegrainsbureau.ca). It is intended to educate consumers about the benefits of whole grains by, among various things, providing perspectives and recommendations from registered dietitians.

However, the BAC is undecided as to how, or even if, it should respond to the Atkins onslaught and the dent it threatens to put in bread consumption. Hetherington says the BAC had initially drawn up plans 15 months ago for an education initiative but says the sheer volume of pro-Atkins news is overwhelming. ‘We’re now looking at it and saying is it still even viable?’