Even the cultural zeitgeist now seems to be working against olestra. It's not that olestra has been a bust. But after a test market of both Ritz and Wheat Thins, Nabisco has decided to bag a national rollout for now. It's the same story at General Mills, which tested Bugles snacks with olestra. The companies' lack of enthusiasm stems in part from the fact that the olestra product took sales away from their own existing low-fat versions.
Chips are down.
By contrast, Guy's Snack Foods, a big regional firm based in Liberty, Mo., has decided to give olestra a pass. In 1996 it bought the Eagle brand name and recently completed a test market of newly formulated Eagle snacks, some made with olestra. It stuck with languishing Pringles for 20 years before the brand finally took off in the early '90s. But first it will have to counteract apocalyptic oratory from nutrition activists, who say that the nutrient-depleting characteristic of olestra could contribute to serious health problems if people consume small amounts of it throughout the day.