Food companies aim to reinvent diet foods

New York

US consumers are shifting away from weight-management foods, forcing companies ranging from Kellogg Co to Nestle SA to change ingredients and focus their marketing on different health benefits as sales slip.

Food companies are grappling with how to market brands such as Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice and Special K, and come out with new products tailored to changing tastes. These days, companies say, consumers care more about ingredients that are simple to understand than they do about counting calories. They also want more ethnic flavours, as well as foods that are higher in protein and gluten-free.