Anglo-Dutch consumer products giant Unilever has said that the popularity of the Atkins diet has hit sales of its Slim-Fast products.
Anthony Burgmans, Dutch co-chairman of Unilever, said US sales of its low-fat Slim-Fast foods had been disappointing in the first half of 2003.
“That is because of a change in dieting behaviour in the US… because of the Dr. Atkins diet which has a different basis than Slim-Fast,” Burgmans told Reuters.
The Atkins diet, launched by the late Robert Atkins in the 1970s, is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that has gained popularity in recent years. With such high-profile celebrities as Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt believed to follow the Atkins diet, it has even become a fashionable way of dieting.
In a bid to combat disappointing sales, Unilever said it has now launched Slim-Fast ice cream. The company said it expects much better Slim-Fast sales in the second half.
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By GlobalData