Gluten Free Buying Guide
With 97% of households now regularly purchasing products marked as free-from, it’s no surprise that gluten-free sales have enjoyed another year of steady growth, up 4% according to the latest Kantar data. Whilst the wider free-from category has increased in value by £496 million to be now worth a staggering £3.55 billion.*
The category is benefitting hugely from the now widely recognised link between gut health and overall wellbeing. Even if consumers don’t have a medical reason for cutting out gluten, research
suggests that reducing gluten consumption can be beneficial for bloating and overall gut health, which in turn has an impact on immune health and mood and this is driving more and more
wellness-savvy consumers to turn towards gluten-free products.
This expansion in the appeal of gluten-free is helping to drive product innovation, taste, and quality as gluten-free manufacturers are starting to look at reducing the fat and sugar content in their products whilst increasing the nutritional profile and taste to appeal to the ‘lifestyle’ consumers. There has also been more convergence with other ‘trends’ in the health and wellness industry such
as organic, vegan, and sustainability. Turn to p8 for more information on this from industry expert, Amisa, with some great gluten-free recipe ideas for your customers to try too.
Bread remains the best-selling category, especially amongst the 2% of ‘super heavy’ consumers who account for 35% of the market spend, so is the most important sector to get right. Our gluten-free expert, Schär, talks to us about product innovation in the bread category with the use of added functional ingredients and gives us a quick guide to gluten-free grains on p4.
