The craze of Keto strikes the general public

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) – Keto explodes.

The ketogenic diet is a strict diet of low carb and fat foods that forces the body to go into the state of ketosis – when you burn fats instead of carbohydrates to get to the body. 39; energy.

Thanks to social media and word of mouth, demand for keto-compatible products has risen sharply.

Like Whole30, where dieters cut sugar, grains, dairy and legumes for 30 days, and paleo, modeled on Paleolithic eating habits, keto has become trendy.

But the interest in the keto has far exceeded the interest for other fad diets. Last year, a graph of Google Trends shows that searches for "keto" found "paleo" "Whole 30" and "intermittent fasting".

On Instagram, dieters share their progress. Accounts with tens of thousands of followers post before and after photos of weight loss and shots of meals adapted to ketos. Often, users put their weight loss into their bios.

"Probably our first six months of sales were made by people who were talking about us on Instagram," said Brian Hemmert, marketing director of Fat Snax, which sells low-fat, low-carb biscuits and blends. matcha tea.

Because keto is so strict, snacks and meal replacements are especially helpful for those trying to maintain their diet.

Hemmert said the demand for Fat Snax products, available online, is growing rapidly. In the coming months, Fat Snax will be sold in a national chain.

"There has been such a substantive wave," said Anthony Gustin, co-founder of Perfect Keto, which sells protein powders and other ketone-compatible products and shares information on how to maintain his diet.

"The growth has been pretty wild." Gustin said Perfect Keto had an average growth of 20% a month last year.

Ted Tieken, founder of Keto and Company, which manufactures keto-based powders, said he had noticed a shift in awareness of his diet.

About "six months ago, I stopped having to explain what keto was to the average person," he said. And in the last few weeks, "people are offended when I explain".

Tieken launches a meal replacement shake, Sated, compatible with a keto diet. He used a Kickstarter campaign to evaluate the interest of the product. So far, hundreds of donors have pledged more than $ 172,000.

Tieken said he planned to produce between 1.5 and 3 million bottles depending on the demand for shake, a sweet meal substitute.

He estimates that Keto and Company currently has about 5,000 customers a month. But he noted that "demand is steadily increasing".

Critics say the tax system is unrealistic. When people adapt to a lack of carbohydrates, they often experience fatigue and dizziness. When US News and World Report ranked the 40 most popular diets this year, they put Keto – and the similar Dukan diet – last. The panel of experts who created the list said that the keto diet is hard to maintain and that the intake of fat could be dangerous for some.

But Keto fans say there are a number of health benefits, such as more energy, better concentration, and especially weight loss.

The US food sector is globally growing. According to Euromonitor, the category of meal replacements increased by 12% between 2012 and 2017. During the same period, the category of nutritional drinks for supplements increased by 23%.

And people outside the keto niche community are paying attention.

Vincent Kitirattragarn, founder and CEO of Dang Foods, did not focus on making food suitable for the diet. Six years ago, he launched Dang to sell modern and healthy Asian snacks.

About a year ago, Dang started developing FATBAR, a user-friendly snack bar.

"It is very clear to us, after interviewing people and doing market research, that the demand for ketone products was huge and that the demand was not being met by the market," he said. .

FATBAR will be available online this fall and at Whole Foods in early 2019.

– Sandee LaMotte from CNN contributed to this report.