MarketLooks: The U.S. Market for Weight Loss Products and Trends

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The following is the abstract from the full report:
Judging by retail sales and new product trends in 2004 and 2005, the low-carb bubble appears to have burst, and marketers are scrambling to identify the “next big thing” in weight loss. The U.S. Market for Weight-Loss Products and Trends: Moving From Low-Carb to Low-Sugar and Low-Glycemic, a revised and updated Packaged Facts report, examines emerging trends in the U.S. market for weight-loss foods and beverages, where low-carb has begun to yield ground to other key “Lows,” from low-fat to low-sugar and low-glycemic, in a variety of important product categories. It also surveys recent developments in weight-loss-related food ingredients (including artificial sweeteners), current government nutritional guidelines and product regulation, and the evolution of leading diet plans such as Atkins and Weight Watchers, exploring in detail how the weight-loss market is moving from an emphasis on narrowly defined “trend” diets (such as low-carb) towards an approach that integrates weight loss with overall good health.

Using Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) data, the report quantifies sales of weight-loss foods and beverages for 2001-2005 in five core categories: Frozen Dinners & Entrees, Desserts, Food Bars, Meal Replacement Liquids & Powders, and Diet Candy. These key market segments are also compared and contrasted with standout weight-loss products in a variety of “trend” categories, ranging from baked goods and cereal to condiments and beer. The market is also quantified through custom-tabulated Productscan reports that analyze weight-loss-related package tag trends across all food and beverage categories. Sales are projected through 2010, based on an examination of current and coming trends that offer new growth opportunities in key food and beverage categories.

Also provided are profiles of leading weight-loss food and beverage marketers such as Atkins Nutritionals, H.J. Heinz Co. (Weight Watchers), Nestle (Stouffer's Lean Cuisine), and Slim-Fast Foods Co., as well as mainstream marketers who are moving more heavily into the weight-loss realm, including Dreyers Grand Ice Cream, Inc. and General Mills, Inc. Demographic profiles of key consumer demographic groups are also included, based custom tabulations of Spring 2005 Simmons Market Research Bureau data.