Shops for the low-carb set

By Jane E. Allen

Jan. 12, 2004 12 AM PT

Times Staff Writer

The LoCarb Life shop in West Los Angeles can seem a paradise for people on low-carbohydrate diets. They come inside seeking to escape the monotony of endless meals built around meats and cheeses, and find hundreds of unexpected options -- low-carb macaroni mixes, frozen bagels, puddings.

The store, says owner Catherine Lincoln, is a haven for dieters who have “overdosed on the beef.”

Depending on whose survey you believe, an estimated 10 million to 35 million Americans are on the Atkins, South Beach or other carbohydrate-restricted diet plans, which emphasize high-protein foods (Atkins also allows high-fat foods) over those containing large amounts of carbs. Starchy items such as pancakes, potatoes, pastas and breads are either verboten or extremely limited. But that doesn’t stop dieters’ cravings.

Tapping into these desires and the needs of diabetics who must watch their starches and sugars, hundreds of savvy entrepreneurs, many veterans themselves of these diets, are opening shops that cater to them. Such stores provide one-stop shopping for low-carb dieters’ baking, cooking and snacking needs, plus hard-to-find items -- albeit at a premium.

Some shoppers often suffer sticker shock when they first walk in, but with more research showing that low-carb plans take off the pounds (at least in the short term) and reduce cholesterol, the demand for low-carb products is expected to grow.

The stores sell versions of forbidden starchy foods reformulated to be high-protein, low-carb and sugar-free (though generally with the same amount of calories as their full-carb counterparts). Wheat flour is replaced by ingredients such as soy flour, soy protein and fiber.

The appeal of these stand-alone stores is enormous, says Dean Rotbart, executive editor of LowCarbiz, a weekly online newsletter for the low-carb industry. The first low-carb retail store opened in 1997 in Boca Raton, Fla. Today, there are about 300 stand-alone stores nationwide. A new one opens every other week.

Lincoln, who dropped 30 pounds on a low-carb plan, opened the LoCarb Life on Pico Boulevard on Dec. 6, motivated by an Atkins-following friend who had trouble finding the foods he wanted.

Last month, Jason May and his fiancee, Rosie Awad, opened Lo Carb-U a few miles away on Melrose Avenue. May lost 30 pounds on the Atkins diet; Awad has lost 25.

Theirs are among an explosion of low-carb stores. In Southern California alone, Heavenly Low Carb opened in Sherman Oaks in September, Frank’s Low-Carb Marketplace opened Dec. 18 in Laguna Hills, and the first Carb Cops Low Carb Superstore opened Jan. 1 in Redondo Beach. Pure Foods, which sells low-carb foods in Santa Monica, is scheduled to open stores in Beverly Hills on Jan. 25 and in Brentwood on Feb. 5.

Meanwhile, Castus Low Carb Superstores will open the first of 20 Southern California locations in Hermosa Beach on Thursday. Chief Executive Rick Schott, who lost 100 pounds in 1996 on a low-carb plan, started a health food store called Greenbeanz in 1999 in San Ramon, Calif. In early 2002, he and co-owner Paul Chalupsky made it exclusively low-carb, changed the name to Castus and last year began selling franchises.

Instead of picking up Atkins products from designated shelves at a local supermarket, scanning the low-carb section of health food stores or scouring the aisles of other specialty shops, shoppers at these new stores can browse through shelves of low-carb rolls, bagels, breads, tortillas and taco shells; packaged cereals, cake mixes, dried mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, soups, salad dressings and ketchups. There are sweets aisles with sugar-free chocolates, hard candies and cookies; refrigerator cases with low-carb milk and yogurt; shelves stocked with bottles of low-carb pina colada and margarita mixes; and rows of salty snacks made from the lowly pork rind -- flavored like cinnamon toast, or formed into tiny nuggets that pop like popcorn.

Freezer cases are stocked with frozen pizzas, cheesecakes and Oriental-style noodles made from tofu and yam flour.

The foods don’t come cheap. Bags of salty snacks can run $4 to $5; cream-filled cakes, $7 to $9.

Nationwide surveys show that the biggest emerging product in a field of 3,500 low-carb offerings is the low-carb tortilla; the low-carb cheesecake is also a huge seller, said Rotbart. The tortilla is turning up in fast-food shops like Subway, where it’s an alternative to bread.

The low-carb stores are also trying to stand out from the competition by getting customers to stop in for a quick lunch or snack -- rather than going to fast-food chains such as McDonald’s and Burger King, which are promoting customized burgers and other high-protein offerings. Some are collaborating with local caterers to offer fresh sandwiches, entrees or dinners.

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Sampling of stores

Here’s a partial list of specialty food stores that feature products for those on low-carbohydrate diets:

Los Angeles County:

Carb Cops Low Carb Superstore

2739 Manhattan Beach Blvd.

Redondo Beach, 90278

(310) 297-9292

Heavenly Low Carb

4621 Van Nuys Blvd.

Sherman Oaks, 91403

(818) 325-8087