Kraft to go low-carb with its convenience foods

• Just as the low-carb craze fizzles, Kraft Foods is gearing up to heavily support the launch of a full lineup of 26 convenience foods based on the carb-restricting South Beach Diet.
• While South Beach Diet creator Dr. Arthur Agatston claims even from the first line of his book that his approach is not low-carb, most retailers and analysts agree that South Beach is still linked in consumers' minds with the fad diet that hit its high roughly a year ago.
• The push in April is pegged to the paperback rollout of "The South Beach Diet," which has been on the New York Times bestseller list and sold more than 8 million copies since Rodale launched the hardback in April 2003.
• The executive's expectations for the line are not high because, "we've probably discontinued half of our low-carb and Atkins products recently."
• Another Midwest retail executive, who likewise is discontinuing many low-carb products, including Kraft's CarbWell cereals, General Mills' Total Protein cereal and many items from Unilever's Carb Options lineup, said, "Kraft is just grasping at straws.
• I don't think people will buy something or certainly not pay more for something that says 'South Beach Diet' on it."
• But Howard Brandeisky, VP-South Beach Diet foods at Kraft, said, "we've seen growing consumer interest in the South Beach Diet and providing convenient options for consumers to be on that diet will be a big idea."
• Kraft's partnership with Dr. Agatston began modestly last October with the addition of a "South Beach Diet-recommended" burst on more than 200 products across 38 of its brands, including Sugar-Free Jell-O, Planters nuts and Boca Burgers.
• The new initiative creates a standalone brand for cereals, meal-replacement bars, refrigerated sandwich kits and frozen entrees.
• Atkins Nutritionals is headed in the same direction.