CEO improves prognosis for Atkins.

• Author: Taylor, Mike
• Position: SMALL [biz] - Chief executive officer Monty Sharma - Atkins Nutritionals Inc.

The three doctors introduced at the Oceanaire Seafood Room in downtown Denver looked triumphant as they accepted applause for the difficult operation they had performed. Now it was out of their hands.

The Feb. 16 spectacle had the feel of a medical breakthrough along the lines of the Jarvik 7 artificial heart, and from a diet-business standpoint, maybe that's what it was: the unveiling of the new Atkins diet book co-authored by the three doctors, Eric Westman, Stephen Phinney and Jeff Volek. Just one step in resuscitating a former diet-industry giant.

Dr. Robert Atkins died in 2003 when the slipped on some ice and hit his head, and for awhile it looked like the Atkins Diet he pioneered and the business based upon it were headed for a similar fall.

The low-carb Atkins Diet was once such a cultural phenomenon that restaurants piggybacked on the craze by touting low-carb entrees as "Atkins friendly" and affixing a red "A" to menu items. Pasta and bread sales suffered on account of Atkins' influence. At its height, an estimated one of every 11 North American adults was on the diet. Sales of Atkins products in 2003 were pegged at more than $200 million.

But then the Atkins empire seemed to lose its way. Some 70 new Atkins products were hastily introduced in the months following Dr. Atkins' death, and they were roundly criticized for their poor taste. The Atkins Diet itself came under fire from some heart doctors and nutritionists for allowing liberal consumption of foods such as butter, meat, cheese and eggs.

Slim-Fast, Jenny Craig, Nutri-Systems, Weight Watchers and other foes seized market share. Battered by declining sales and increasing competition, Atkins Nutritionals filed for bankruptcy in 2005 and completed Chapter 11 reorganization later that year.

That brings us to 2010, the new Atkins book, a new slogan--"Sweet. Sexy. Science."--and the effort to resurrect the brand, led by Monty Sharma, CEO of Denver-based Atkins Nutritionals Inc.

If anyone is ideally suited for the rebuilding job it would seem to be the 45-year-old Sharma. As CEO of Golden-based EAS (Energy Athletics Strength), Sharma and his team doubled sales to $300 million and cut operating costs by $27 million, setting the stage for the company's sale in 2004 to Abbott Laboratories.

Then, as CEO of Los Angeles-based Naked Juice, he expanded distribution and repositioned the ultra-premium brand as a mainstream offering, culminating in Naked Juice's sale to PepsiCo in 2007.

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