The company behind the high-protein diet that shunned carb-rich foods such as pasta helped spark the low-carb craze. But packaged foods and supermarket expert Phil Lempert says that Atkins products, such as low-carb shakes, breads and bars, failed the taste test.

"It was first and it owned the category, but the problems from a consumer standpoint were that the products tasted really bad and consumers are still confused about net carbs," says Lempert of Supermarket.com. "A lot of people who really wanted to follow the low-carb diet were feeling ripped off. Clearly, they had the front-line position, but they really gave it away."

Robert Atkins, who founded the company in 1989, died in 2003. The loss of a pitchman may have contributed to Atkins' troubles, says Eric Braverman, a former research director for Atkins and the director of a medical practice in New York. "Unless they have a spokesperson equally as zealous as him, it's not likely to succeed," he says.

The low-carb craze helped the company put its licensed signature red "A" on Atkins-friendly menus at fast food joints such as Subway and casual dining restaurants such as T.G.I. Friday's. But the diet's huge popularity also attracted giant packaged-food competitors such as Kraft into low-carb products.

Meanwhile, there's been a sharp drop in low-carb dieters, from a peak of 9% of U.S. adults in 2004 saying they were on the diet to 2.2% last month, according to market research firm NPD Group.

"The low-carb trend has sort of died on the vine," said Bob Goldin, executive vice president at Chicago-based food industry consulting firm Technomic.

Braverman, who has used variations of the Atkins diet for the past 20 years to help diabetic and obese patients, says Atkins may be able to emerge by focusing on other diets pioneered by Atkins.

"He did not have one diet for everyone," says Braverman. "He had many different diets, and good diet and nutrition is the cornerstone for the medical practice."

Contributing: Wire reports