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Every year new fads emerge that affect business. Many are a flash in the pan and disappear quickly. Others become legitimate trends, and need to be understood and accepted by business leaders. The extremely low-carb Atkins diet is just such an example. It started as a fad, and has become the habit of millions.
In the past, the low-fat craze impacted the food industry, with restaurants placing low-fat options on menus and grocery snack shelves filled with low-fat options. Businesses in the hospitality industry, large and small, had to make fundamental changes in their models to accommodate the change.
Wise restaurant owners now place low-carb items on the menu, rather then require a customer to order dinner with two vegetables and no potatoes. Bakeries have seen sales drop 2-3% this year, and the trend may accelerate. Bakery owners would do well to find low-carb options to replace those lost sales.
Bread makers determine 40% of Americans eat less bread then last year, pushing their sales down. Highly refined white breads are now a no-no, for dieters, especially for those on the Atkins menu, while some whole-grain breads get the OK. And Great Harvest Bread is offering low-carb breads at stores nationwide. Even Burger King has jumped on the bandwagon, offering a burger?can you imagine?without a bun.
King Solomon observed, “Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool displays (his) folly” (Proverbs 13:16 NASB). Prudent food service owners need to accept the Atkins trend as something here to stay, and act on it.
Remember how some coffee shops resisted a trend to new coffee blends, believing it was only temporary, and suffered for it? Business leaders who ignore the low- and no-carb trends, believing it to be only momentary, will lose in the marketplace.
Steve Marr is the former CEO of the fourth largest import-export firm in the U.S., a company which facilitated international trade for many of the largest companies in America. Currently, Steve consults with with businesses and ministries utilizing ancient Biblical principles for success in today's marketplace. Clickhereto contact Steve, or visit his website atwww.businessproverbs.com
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