Atkins's death not shrinking the bottom line

By Alex Beam, Globe Columnist, 7/10/2003

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What are the chances of the vast Atkins diet empire, worth between $100 million and $200 million in sales a year, surviving the recent death of its founder and chief spokesman, Dr. Robert Atkins? There is no obvious candidate to sally forth, as he did so effectively, onto the Larry King show and explain the ''science'' behind the low-carbohydrate diet that has helped millions of Americans shed weight and feel better about themselves, at least for a while.

So far, so good, reports Matthew Wiant, senior vice president of Atkins Nutritionals Inc. The privately owned company is aggressively expanding its line of convenience foods, so if you think you've been seeing more ads bearing the distinctive scarlet ''A,'' you're right. Atkins is in the middle of a $10 million print and television campaign, planned before the founder's death, to push its branded shakes, snack foods, and food supplements.

Now the company is introducing specially formulated bread, pasta, and breakfast cereals, three high-carb food groups traditionally eschewed by the A-people. ''It's important to quickly make the brand transcend the individual, to make it stand for an approach to eating as opposed to representing just one man,'' Wiant says. ''He was the catalyst, but the movement has gotten big enough that it's going to perpetuate itself.''

The move into food makes sense because other companies have successfully cannibalized the low-carbohydrate franchise. Michelob launched its low-carb beer, Ultra, with a splashy ad during the last Super Bowl. Splenda, the brand name for the low-carb sugar substitute sucralose, has become a fixture in most restaurant sugar bowls. Although both products benefit from Atkins's popularity, neither is owned by the company.

The brand hopes to carve out its own section in supermarkets and is negotiating with chains to make that happen. And of course Atkins, who died in April at age 72, has achieved immortality in his books. ''Atkins for Life'' has been on the New York Times hardcover-advice bestseller list for almost half a year, and his ''New Diet Revolution'' is No. 1 on the paperback list. Another Atkins book, this one focusing on diet and diabetes, is due out next year.