Low-carb alternatives are set to enter another new category with the first range of Atkins-friendly breakfast cereals from Carbolite.
Branded Breakfast Clusters, the new low-carb cereal will come in two varieties - Mixed Nut & Seeds and Almond & Strawberry.
They will initially only be available in single-serve 30g sachets (rsp 65p) to ensure portion control and to enable the Clusters to be eaten as a portable snack as well as consumed with milk.
There are no plans to bring out a larger box format.
The launch follows on swiftly from the introduction of the first ready-to-eat ice cream from Edinburgh-based low-carb specialists Go Lower (The
Grocer, October 2, p91).
Both cereals fit within a low-carb lifestyle as the Mixed Nut & Seeds has a net effective carb count (NEC) of 4.7g, while the Almond & Strawberry has an NEC of 3.6g. According to Carbolite, 30g of Kellogg’s Special K contains 22.5g NEC and Kellogg’s Crunchy Nut Clusters 20.4g.
The company said one of the main reasons people stopped following a low-carb lifestyle was the lack of options at breakfast time.
Rob Ellert, managing director of Carbolite Europe, said: “As we’ve watched the low-carb phenomenon take hold in the US, so too have we witnessed the impact that it has had on traditionally high-carb categories.
“There is a shortage of convenient low-carb alternatives in the breakfast category.
“Cereals and toast are a mainstay of the UK diet and, with the new Carbolite cereal range will continue to be, even as part of a low-carb lifestyle.”
Available now, Breakfast Clusters has already won listings in Sainsbury, Morrisons and Asda and will be merchandised within the supermarkets’ slimming fixtures.
Sean McAllister