South Africa's obsession with a high-fat, low-carb diet is creating a new niche industry as businesses jump on the Banting bandwagon. From vending machines to maize-free pap, Banting bread, cake mix and a budget range, entrepreneurs are hoping the diet craze will fatten their wallets.Baker Marlon Felkers's Banting loaves are already on the shelves at major retailers.story_article_left1At his bakery in Cape Town, product development began with Leandri Strydom and Hein Kymdell, who call themselves inventors rather than bakers."You don't want to know how many flops we had before we got it perfect but it's worth it in the end," said Strydom.Ingredients in Felkers's loaves include almonds from California and sunflower and flax seeds that are ground in a hammer mill.The bakery produces 500kg of dough a day - rye and Banting - which makes between 700 and 800 loaves.While normal bread takes 45 minutes to bake, Banting loaves take up to two hours and have to be rested for 24 hours before being sliced.Otto Remke, who created Banting-friendly vending machines that have started appearing around Cape Town, said: "I lost 25kg following the Banting dietary principles and am one of its biggest advocates."The problem was that it was very inconvenient to slot the Banting lifestyle into my busy life, and that's when I decided it must be the same for many people."story_article_right2Remke's team spent 18 months developing the machines, which are restocked with the help of a cellphone notification system."Because Banting food as a rule does not contain artificial preservatives, it cannot be left unchecked in a vending machine for more than 48 hours," said Remke.Products, which include bagels, sandwiches and wraps, vary depending on the location and target market.Remke said he had received more than 200 inquiries about the machines, from as far afield as the UK and Australia."The only little niggle has been that South Africans are not a vending nation like Europe or the US, and many people are still scared to do a transaction on the machine," said Remke.Banting champion Professor Tim Noakes said the explosion of interest by small food manufacturers was "fantastic"."Once you go mainstream and get the big manufacturers it is even better," he said...