According to some analysts and industry observers, the low-carb movement has peaked, and food manufacturers who are just now coming out with low-carb versions of their products may be too late.

The food industry could have wasted “hundreds of millions” of dollars in reformulating and repackaging products as low-carb, said Ken Harris, a consultant who works with consumer products and retail companies for Cannondale Associates. “Just to bring a product to market is very costly.”

As CarbWire reported yesterday, low-carb dieting isn’t going away anytime soon. According to research from ACNielsen, U.S. sales of low-carb products hit $1.3 billion for the 12 months ended July 10, up 283% from the same period a year ago. For the 13 weeks ended the same day, however, sales were up only 20% from the previous 13 weeks, when sales were up 122% from the 13 weeks before that.