Atkins Nutritionals files for chapter 11, take 4

From a message board on the Atkins' site, by Colette Heimowitz.

Hi everyone. I know you may have heard that Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. recently commenced a pre-arranged Chapter 11 proceedings. This means that we have already agreed to the terms of our restructuring plan with our lenders which will allow us to emerge from Chapter quickly. I want to address other questions you may have personally.

First, please understand that this was a positive move for the company. It will allow us to be stronger, faster and more flexible going forward by significantly reducing the companies long term debt. The Atkins brand is strong and is here to stay. As you know, we have been focusing all of our attention on improving the quality, freshness and taste of our nutrition bars and shakes under the Advantage, Morning Start and Endulge brands. Our products have ubiquitous distribution and can be found in over 30,000 retailers nationwide; including all major supermarkets, club, drug, mass-merchandiser, nutrition, convenience stores.

We have accomplished a large part of our vision. Today carbohydrate awareness has gone mainstream. In fact, 44% of US Adults consider reducing carbohydrates as an important aspect of a healthy nutritional approach. We believe we can continue to assert our mission by educating health & nutrition conscious consumers on the importance of eating adequate protein and fiber, while reducing the consumption of processed sugar and transfats.

We hope to continue to earn your support and trust as we evolve our messaging from "controlling carbohydrates" to speaking about more of the benefits our products offer to help improve your nutritional intake and overall health. We are proud that our products taste great, are made from nutritionally superior ingredients, fit with almost every nutrition philosophy and want to tell people about it!

This fall we will be introducing Atkins Advantage Caramel Bars nationally throughout our network. I can't wait for you to try them. They are delicious and are packed with key nutrients like protein, calcium, and fiber, and of course include no added sugar. They are the first Caramel favored bars on the introduced on the market without sugar alcohols.

There will be more great tasting new products introduced in the months ahead. As you can see Atkins is strong and here to stay.