Peek No: 29  
Feb 06, 2004 

Hi!

Here’s the thing about healthy foods today: total confusion.

Proteins or carbohydrates? The jury is hung. There is no proof beyond reasonable doubt.

Red meats and health? Did you ever expect to see these two words occur in the same sentence? Here is an erratic pendulum swing for you: Some people are really convinced that foods rich in proteins are actually good.

First it was William Banting – way back in the 1860s. Then it was Robert Atkins - in the 1970s. Now the modern day believers are in the thousands. They’re positive that living on fats and proteins and keeping out the carbs is the way to go.

What is the opinion on the other side of the fence? They are firm that fat is Faustian. The noticeable advantages of “going Atkins” get neutralized in the long run and the fats will finally get you.

Although low-carb dieters increased their intake of fat, there was no perceptible change in their blood cholesterol. They even lost weight in the short term. However is that there is no conclusive proof of benefits in the long term.

The scoop on carbs is not very heartening either. Many carbs rapidly offload their sugars into the blood stream. The rate at which carbs do this is referred to as the glycemic index. It is generally believed that carbs with a high glycemic load inflate appetite and promote type 2 diabetes.

Is there a relatively safe middle road? Fortunately it would seem so. Higher servings of foods that fall in the low glycemic load should make up the predominant part of regular meals. Carbs a little higher in glycemic load can be reserved for occasions.

So what’s in this for me?

The business opportunities this situation throws up are many. Breakfast bars, take-aways, recipe books of carbs with low glycemic load. The prospects are numerous. If you want to know more on this click on the link below.

http://www.executive-solutions.com/ezy/free.shtml

Before the peek, have a glance at our economy.

Factory Orders

Orders to U.S. factories rose 1.1% to $342.4 billion in December. The orders to durable goods increased 0.3 %. Orders excluding transportation went up 0.9% and excluding defense went up 1.2%. New orders for non-durable goods were up 2.0% in December.

Domestic Motor Vehicle Sales

The sales of light domestic vehicles slowed in January to a 13.1 million unit selling rate vs. the selling rate of 14.7 million unit in December. Compared to January 2003 the domestic auto sales in 2004 January increased by 2.3%.

Happy Peeking!

Editor
Marketspeek
Executive Editor - Dr. Sharon Livingston
Editor - Vijay

 Week's Peek

Atkins diet

  • Atkins is a diet with low amounts of carbohydrates.

  • Atkins diet is an effective way to lose weight because when the body has too many carbohydrates in its system it turns the excess carbohydrates into sugar which then gets turned into fat.

  • Atkins diet lowers cholesterol and it is an entirely new approach to the control and prevention of heart disease.

  • Over four months on the diet, the participants lost an average of 21.3 pounds, and showed a 6.1% drop in cholesterol, and almost a 40% drop in the level of triglycerides in their blood. In addition, their HDL levels increased by about 7%.

  • In a press release, the researchers also say that their study did not find any of the safety concerns voiced by the American Dietetic Association, such as potentially dangerous effects on liver and kidney function.

  • The Atkins diet severely restricts carbohydrate intake to induce a state of ketosis, or metabolic starvation.

  • According to researchers low-carbohydrate, calorie-restricted diets can help people with type 2 diabetes get their blood sugar under control when standard dietary changes and drug treatment have failed.

  • In the United States, about 45 percent of women and 30 percent of men are on a diet.

  • More than 60 percent of Americans are overweight and more than 30 percent are obese.

Vital Statistics
Atkins-ization

  • U.S. retail sales of weight loss products increased by a total of almost 90% and posted a compound annual growth rate of 17% during the period of 1999 to 2003.
  • Low-carbohydrate dieting is presented as being a leading cause of monumental gains in the weight loss segment of the food industry.
  • Atkins diet is experiencing a welcome boost in sales after years in the shadow of low-fat food items.
  • Prices on cattle futures have climbed from 65 cents per pound in 2001 to 82 cents per pound in 2003 which suggests that the beef market has grown by $3 billion in 3 years.
  • Beef jerky sales are up more than 40 percent in the past two years, and pork-rinds have tripled their market share to $496 million per year.
  • Atkins Nutritionals Inc., the food company started by Atkins sold $100 million worth of 90 low-carbohydrate products last year.
  • It is estimated that the size of the Atkins market is at least $1 billion per year.
  • Reports claim that 25.4 million Americans (12% of the adult population) have tried the Atkins diet and another 36.7 million is planning to switch on to it.

  • The sales of frozen and heat-and-serve beef have hit $1.5 billion in the last year.

 

Analysis
Moving with the feast

  • Atkins friendly food making is a high-growth niche market where food manufacturers can cash in as there is a low-carbohydrate dieting craze across the country.
  • The healthful benefits of the Atkins diet can be used to promote the Atkins friendly foods across the nation.
  • The retail chains and restaurants can recognize the financial gains to be made from high-cost, low-carb foods and can start shops and franchisees to cater to the public with the varieties of takeaway foods and cereal bars with a less content of carbohydrate.
  • Book publishers can come out with books on less restrictive dieting which covers all aspects of low-carb lifestyle and with Atkins recipe books as there are very less books of the kind.
  • Business opportunity is in the heights as 12% of the population already tried the Atkins diet and another 18% is planning to have a crush on it.
  • As the time-pressured Americans alter or eliminate breakfast from their eating habits, cereal manufacturers and highway restaurants can plunge into the niche market of low-carb burgers and breakfast bars.
  • Bakers can make low-carb versions of the burger with a replacement of lettuce instead of the bun and a reduction in the amount of ketchup.
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   Wish I Were

W.S. Badger Company

Bill Whyte was a carpenter who loved his work and enjoyed the rugged feel of the job. What he hated was that they left his fingers, rough, cracked and even bleeding sometimes.

He tried using a variety of remedies to cure his fingers.In 1993, he turned to natural remedies and experimented with herbs and oils. To his own surprise, he came up with an extremely effective healing concoction made from different blends of virgin olive oil, castor oil, beeswax and other ingredients. And, he thought, why not cash in on this? This was how W.S. Badger Company was born and started manufacturing a range of aromatic and healing balms, massage oils and other products.

Initially, Whyte did run against rough weather in certain areas. He recalls, “I knew my strengths lay in creating products and marketing, not organization or bookkeeping, I was also clueless when it came to developing a business plan, figuring out how much money I’d need to get off the ground or how to approach banks.”

He approached a local business consultant. The best part was that they allowed him to come up with the answers and helped him evaluate what he learnt. This gave him the confidence to take his own decisions.

Today ,Whyte’s company has grown from a tiny room in his house to $3 million-per-year operation with 30 employees. From just producing a healing balm, he now produces a range of products to help with sore muscles, chapped lips, pesky bugs and even sleepless nights. He has a nationwide sales network, sells at the prestigious Harrod’s in England, and worldwide via the Web.

Today, Whyte passes on his learning to entrepreneurs by working with the same consultancy. Whyte’s valuable bit of advice to all you enterprising entrepreneurs out there is that one will have to always take your own decisions but whenever necessary one should never hesitate to ask for help. This will help in progressing forward in every way. And achieving success!
For further reading:

www.score.org

www.badgerbalm.com

http://www.essenceofthings.com/BadgerIntroPage.htm
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   BrandFact

1913 Feb 4: Louis Perlman patents demountable auto tire-carrying wheel rim.
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  This Week that Age

Vanguard is the second-largest mutual fund group in the US which is named after a word that refers to something/someone 'occupying the foremost position'.
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  Insight

Experiences are savings which a miser puts aside.Wisdom is an inheritance which a wastrel cannot exhaust.

--Karl Kraus
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