Krusteaz Survey Reveals What's Eating America's Low-Carb Dieters
Friday May 21, 6:00 am ET
Carb Counters Dissatisfied With Low-Carb Options; Name Baked Goods as Most Craved Food Among Other Findings


SEATTLE, May 21 /PRNewswire/ When it comes to food options, America's low-carb dieters are seemingly fed up with the lack of quality choices. A new survey*, titled "Low-carb Dilemmas: What's Eating America?," reveals 43 percent of carb counters are unsatisfied with the taste of manufactured reduced carb products, while another 40 percent said they tasted good, but clearly not like the "real thing."
Uncovering America's dieting woes, the survey, commissioned by national baking mix brand Krusteaz, clearly shows low-carb meals are not measuring up. In fact, despite the explosion of reduced carb products on the market, more than three in five low-carb dieters still feel limited by their dietary options and crave "off limits" food at least a few times a week.

Topping the most wanted list of high carb foods was baked goods, with more than 50 percent of dieters claiming this as the food they miss the most, beating out popular staples such as pasta (22%) and fruit (9%). Additional survey findings include:

-- Bad Taste: More than one in five respondents claimed they don't even
bother trying manufactured low carb goods because they "know they will
taste terrible." Another seventeen percent said they tasted bland, but
felt they had no alternatives, while five percent claimed the products
were so terrible they couldn't eat them.
-- Snack Attack: Thirty-six percent of respondents reported snack time as
the most difficult meal to maintain on their diet, followed closely by
dinner (34%), with lunch and breakfast equally as difficult (12%).
-- Youthful Beginnings: Respondents 18-24 years old were significantly
more likely (31%) to claim breakfast as the most difficult meal on a
low-carb diet.
-- Constant Cravings: Thirty-six percent of men, as opposed to only
23 percent of women, crave non low-carb foods every day. A mere eight percent of respondents claimed they never miss off-limits food.
-- Taste Buddies: Nearly 10 percent of low-carb dieters claim to be in
"mixed marriages" -- they count carbs while their spouse or significant
other does not, which can make for difficult meal options. One-third
indicated their partner also followed a low-carb lifestyle.


The survey coincides with the launch of Krusteaz CarbSimple line of low-carb baking mixes, which provide carb conscious meal solutions for dieters frustrated by their lack of choices, but who refuse to sacrifice flavor and quality. The product line includes delicious muffin, brownie, pancake, bread and cornbread mixes, which are now widely available on grocery store shelves throughout the nation. For more information on Krusteaz, visit www.krusteaz.com.

About Krusteaz

Krusteaz®, a brand of Tukwila, Wash.-based Continental Mills, is a national leader in the retail baking mix industry. Offering a wide range of products from breads and muffins, to pancakes and dessert mixes, Krusteaz is renowned for producing easy-to-use baking mixes that are superior in taste and quality. The brand was founded in 1932 by a group of women from a Seattle, Wash. bridge club who endeavored to create the world's first easy-to-make pie crust, a concept that inspired the Krusteaz name. Krusteaz baking mixes are widely available in grocery stores throughout the country.

* Survey conducted by StrategyOne on behalf of Krusteaz. The nationwide telephone survey included 521 American adults, 18 years of age or older who reported currently being on a low-carbohydrate diet. The margin-of-error is +/-4.3 percent points at the 95 percent confidence level.



http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040521/sff003_1.html

Hi Demi...and thanks for the article.
Last week I bought a box of Krusteaz new low carb mix and actually really liked it!!

I haven't tried any of the Krusteaz products, but then I refuse to pay 5.99 for a mix that costs 2.29 in regular (high carb)formula. I notice their survey didn't address cost in reason for not purchasing products, nor were there any respondents who "didn't want processed food in their LC diet". I guess it's a case of asking only questions to get the answers you want ...

I haven't tried thier product, but I can say that most of the products from Atkins I have tried have been very disappointing. I prefer to whip up my own LC items at home.

I was thinking the same thing. Why doesn't anyone ever ask me why I buy very few LC products?

I just tried the chocolate chip muffin mix and was very pleezed with the taste and the simple preparations. Except for the use of enriched flour, it is very good.

I don't mind paying more for their product because I don't eat as much baked goods as before. It is a good ocasional treat.

I'm rather amazed at the good tasting lower carb products available. Additionally, my tastes have changed and I'm very happy with this woe.

[QUOTE=Skyangel]I haven't tried any of the Krusteaz products, but then I refuse to pay 5.99 for a mix that costs 2.29 in regular (high carb)formula.

That's awfully high.....I paid $3.59 at Nob Hill (albertsons) in California. I too wouldn't buy it at that price!

Expensive. I have had 3 boxes of Krusteaz muffins in my cupboard for 5 months as they have a whopping number of net carbs per serving: 9g or 11g, I cannot remember.

i have been quite pleased with the taste of low carb alternatives on the market. the atkins muffins are quite tasty (especially with a little butter or cream cheese), and not overly pricey (i did the math, it works out to about a dollar a muffin - less than i would pay for a muffin or bagel at starbucks or tim hortons). the low carb chocolate alternatives (the bars, peanut butter cupps and such) while not exactly like the sugary originals, do fill the need for a 'sweet something' at the end of a meal (dinner feels better if it is topped of with a bit of chocolate and a cuppa coffee). they are no more expensive than high quality regular chocolate and they are better for me.

the high price is most likely due to the smaller market. 5 years ago when we started buying organic produce/dairy/meat it was very expensive (100-200% more). now every other grocery store has an organic section and the prices for these products have fallen significantly (still a bit more expensive but not excessive). if the demand for low carb products stays high, the prices will come down (not to the same level as regular product, as i am sure they are harder/more expensive to develop and manufacture).

I have to chime in here because I write for a magazine off press releases just like this one (different industry, but exactly the same M.O.).

First of all, you see it says "PR Newswire". Public relations newswires are *press releases*...not necessarily news per se. They are written by the companies themselves. If a survey is involved, it is one the company initiated and perhaps executed by itself (or else it outsourced to do the actual legwork of surveying people, etc.). They do NOT typically stop people on the street to ask them these questions. What they do is gather a group of *baked goods purchasers* from a variety of sources (websites being a huge one; coupons/rebates being another; etc.)...but the people they are surveying are ALREADY bakery goods-eaters.

It stands to reason that die-hard baked-goods eaters will be dissatisfied with low carb no matter what it tastes like...even if it's an egg.

Now, I'm not trying to slam Krusteaz. But, as I said, I work for a magazine and I know exactly how these items are intended to look...and I know what's actually behind them. "PR Newswire" is to CNN like "The Enquirer" is to The New York Times. It's set up like news (see? It has a date and a "source" and everything) and you are made to think that Krusteaz, a baked-goods marketer, for God's sake, just happend to stumble accidentally on a lot of "dissatisfied" low-carbers and decided to do this "survey". Don't be fooled. If you want to get news...do NOT get it off the PR newswire. And yes, the "legit" internet newswires have them too...Yahoo has a PR one...I think most of them have one.

It's pretty darned transparent that a company that pours sugar on top of white flower and packages it in a pretty box, will try to convince you, the reader, that every low-carb item tastes like doo-doo...so DON'T DO IT...don't touch that veggie or that piece of chicken...grab for the healthy Cake-O-Doodles instead!

Arghhhhhhhhhh. Sorry. Just had to get that off my chest b/c I HATE to see how marketers try to play with consumers' minds.

I buy very few frankenfoods (any food that contains five or more ingredients I can't begin to pronounce and don't recognize as food items). This rule of thumb excludes most of the LC offerings from Atkins, Krusteaz and similar companies. I eat real food - like meats, fresh veggies, eggs, butter - and make my breads using flaxseeds or almond flour.

If the manufactures have to add all sorts of chemicals to make things look and taste like the real thing, are we really eating healthier by consuming their products? Maybe a better idea is to re-evaluate our diet and switch to real foods substitutes that are naturally healthier.

Or transfats which I noted that every one of their products that I picked up in the store had.
I also noticed that many of their low carb products were too high in carb counts to be useful until later stages for most low carb dieters (9 grams of carb per serving, anyone?) unless they are passing up on the veggies to satisfy their sweet tooth.

Most of the Krusteaz mixes contain Partially Hydrogenated Oils...