Bud Light ads highlight low-carb craze
low-carbohydrate content without any compromise on taste are to air
on Saturday, writes Wai Lang Chu.
The commercials make it clear to beer drinkers that, while all light beers are low in carbohydrate, it is Bud Light's taste that sets it apart. Bud Light joins a growing number of low-carb beverages currently setting the market alight in what is fast becoming a multi-million dollar industry.
Bob Lachky, vice president of brand management atAnheuser-Busch, said: "The new Bud Light ads separate fact from fiction when it comes to low-carbohydrates and light beers."
"We want beer drinkers to know their favorite light beer can be consistent with a low-carbohydrate lifestyle, without compromising the taste."
With 6.6g of carbohydrates per 12-ounce serving, Bud Light is the world's best-selling, premium-light beer and the leading beer in the US. One of the other main US brewer groups, Coors, also joined a market full of competitors on March 1 with its own low -carb beer.
It is not just beer that is receiving the low-carb treatment. Pizza companies are proposing 'low -carb' pizzas. One such is the Donatos chain, a former subsidiary of McDonald's. Clearly it seems fast food is an easy target when streamlining foods to consumer demands.
Indeed, a recent survey conducted by Impulse Research Corporation that found the number one complaint of respondents who are attempting to stick to a low-carb diet is " ... giving up and missing their favorite foods," followed closely by cries of lack of variety in the range of meals and snacks they consider acceptable to eat while watching their carbohydrates.
The meat industry has been the first to benefit from this trend with an overall net increase in sales to the detriment of pasta and bread and sweets manufacturers.
After the craze on cutting calories and the fad for 'light' products, the fashion it seems is to now eliminate carbs. Protestors claim it is a fad that is threatening to get out of control. The latest development is requests from gardeners as to the carb content of key vegetables before ordering for the 2004 season.
Gardeners adhering to a low-carb diet such as Atkins or South Beach are making a conscious effort to plant vegetable varieties low in carbohydrates. This has seen list of vegetables high and low in carbohydrates for home gardeners appear on dedicated websites.
The number of Americans seeking to lose weight by reducing their carbohydrate intake is growing each year. Approximately 59 million Americans - almost 30 per cent of the population - now control the amount of carbohydrates they eat.
