Low-Carb Potential

With a third of western European consumers now classified as 'overweight' and forecasts suggesting this will increase to almost half by 2006, many food and drink manufacturers now regard the development of low-carbohydrate foods as a priority, according to Reuters Business Insight.

The report, 'Obesity, Low-Carb Diets and the Atkins Revolution: Healthy profits from big issues in food and drinks', reveals that 95% of food and drink manufacturers in Europe and the US say they cannot afford to ignore the impact of low-carb dieting on the industry, and more than a quarter say they have already manufactured a product under the low-carbohydrate umbrella.

The European dieting market is forecast to be worth over Euros 100bn in 2007 and it is estimated that 3 million British consumers are now actively cutting their carbohydrate intake.

Respondents thought the areas most likely to be affected by the rise of low-carb were bakery (73%), confectionery and snack-foods (76%). Other likely food types are chilled and frozen foods, ambient meals, sauces and dressings, fruit juices and carbonates and beers and lagers.

Some retailers are already responding - Tesco has introduced specialist labelling for consumers wanting to check the level of carbohydrates in a variety of private label products and Safeway is apparently considering a similar step for foods containing less than 10% carbohydrate.

'There is no doubt that the consumer's appetite for low-carbohydrate foods is huge' according to report author Camilla Palmer. 'With big names entering the market on a daily basis, it is important that the UK food and drink industry realises the potential of the sector'.

More than 500 food and drink professionals were interviewed in the UK, Europe and USA. Reuters Business Insight reports are published by Datamonitor, in association with Reuters.

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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