Brown & Haley gets in line with the bandwagon
C.R. ROBERTS; The News Tribune
Marketers who smelled an early profit were the first to hitch a ride on the low-carb candy bandwagon - not the candy makers, but people who commissioned candy makers to manufacture a product that would fit the fad.
Now, true chocolatiers have discovered the anti-carbohydrate creed. Hersheys recently issued its entry, as did Russell Stover.
Add Brown & Haley.
"Twenty-one percent of Americans have modified their carbohydrate intake," said Pierson Clair, head of the privately held Tacoma company.
Mark Greenhall, newly installed chief sales and marketing officer, said he believes there are tens of millions of people on low-carb diets.
"In January 2003 we started looking," Clair said. "We must be aware of emerging food trends. We went about looking for the best non-carbohydrate sweetening system."
The company produced perhaps a half-dozen prototype candy bars that were then evaluated by various criteria including flavor, eating characteristics and the quality of the sweetening agent, or "polyol."
"Our panel included three people who are on the (Atkins) diet," he said. Members also included employees from the manufacturing, quality assurance and research and development divisions of the company.
After assessing the panel's recommendations, managers selected three varieties for production.
Along with a low-carb Almond Roca bar, the company recently began manufacturing a mint-flavored bar and a bar with soy-based crunches.
The name of the product - meant to evoke a a contemporary lifestyle - is "Carbs In-Line."
The name could summon a sense of a young sport, such as in-line skating, or for those concerned about their diet, Clair said, "It will keep your carbs in line."
The first box off the production line went to Wayne Hilterbran, owner of Casino Snacks Services in Las Vegas. Hilterbran distributes candies, chips, cookies and other confections to Las Vegas casinos. He had met Clair at a recent food industry show.
The Brown & Haley bars, Hilterbran said, "blew the rest of them away."
Other low-carb candy bars he tried suffered from an artificial taste and produce what he politely called a "gas effect" plus a laxative consequence.
"I purposely ate four bars," Hilterbran said. "There was a minute effect, no aftereffect. These bars are unbelievable."
Another brand he named "will bloat you up," he said. "Eat one, and you have to stay away from people." His Carbs In-Line shipment was the first order he'd placed with Brown & Haley. "I've never dealt with this company before," he said.
After only a few weeks, sales look good.
"I took this bar over to the Hard Rock," he said. "They're the hardest place to get something in. The buyer over there tasted it and said, 'When do we get it in?'
"There are very few products like this. (Clair) got in at the right time. It's perfect timing. He just took his time and developed it. It's a winner."
Over the past year, Clair said, at least 10 marketers have asked Brown & Haley to manufacture a low-carb private-brand candy product.
"We wanted to launch our own," Clair said. "This is a contemporary candy."
C.R. Roberts: 253-597-8535
c.r.roberts@mail.tribnet.com
Brown & Haley Carbs In-Line
What: A new low-carb snack product
Carbs: 2 grams
Varieties: Almond Roca, soy crunch and mint
Price: $1.19-$1.49
Distribution plan: Shipments began March 1. The company wants a presence in 25 percent of the United States by year-end and is working to secure orders from national club-store and drug chains.
Research and development: Began January 2003 with six prototypes; finalists recommended by company panel
Other flavors or varieties: Might be available next winter
(Published 12:01AM, March 21st, 2004)
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