Dispatches from IFT 2014

Gluten-free: A ‘perfect storm’ fueled by food skepticism and fad diets

By Kacey Culliney

- Last updated on GMT

Processed food skepticism and fad dieting played a big part in the gluten-free boom, says the research director of Packaged Facts.

Speaking to BakeryandSnacks.com at IFT 2014 in New Orleans last week, David Sprinkle said the gluten-free boom showed no sign of slowing down and that it would continue to be fueled by a number of factors.

Firstly, there were mechanical influences like families purchasing gluten-free because of a celiac in the household or someone with gluten intolerance, he said, but noted that the drivers were far broader than that.

“Gluten-free was a case of almost a perfect storm, in that it tied into the low-carb movement; it tied into concerns about wheat; it tied into concerns about wheat belly; it tied into concerns about white foods. All these dieting trends and sort of concerns - and even to a degree, phobias about food - ended up tying in with gluten-free,”​ he said.

“So you had enormous demand for products even though you had a relatively small incidence of real celiac disease or gluten intolerance.”

Take caution with broader ‘free from’ development

As more companies worked to develop gluten-free products, many were working to include other ‘free from’ or allergen claims on pack – innovation that made sense from a manufacturing stand-point, Sprinkle said.

“You’re basically rebuilding the product virtually from scratch, so you can consider all the factors you want to.”

However, he warned that caution must be taken. “There’s a danger there because in the end, we buy foods. The more claims we start reading; we start becoming skeptical – are we eating a food? Or are we eating some sort of Franken food, engineered product?”

“There is a happy balance where you do want to have claims that strike the right notes with consumers and appeal to a reasonably wide range of consumers, but at the same time you don’t want to come across as a Franken food.”

Gluten-free: A mainstream or specialty future?

Asked if gluten-free had a future in mainstream, Sprinkle said: “The specialty still are the main innovators and the main incubator; it’s especially true in natural and organics.”

He said most future innovation would likely come from these specialty, natural and/or organic companies and there was space to develop smart and informed products that served a real need.

However, mainstream players would continue to have a part to play – evidenced by the success of General Mills’ Rice Chex. This, he said, was a gluten-free product that had experienced double-digit growth in the past decade even when the breakfast cereal category was declining.

Related news

Show more

Related products

show more

Sweeten Your Treats with Sustainable Syrups

Sweeten Your Treats with Sustainable Syrups

Content provided by Green Plains Inc. | 03-Oct-2024 | Insight Guide

Elevate your products with Green Plains’ premium, low carbon-intensity corn syrups. Drop-in replacements with an up to 40% lower carbon footprint than...

Breakthrough ingredients for better-for-you bread

Breakthrough ingredients for better-for-you bread

Content provided by ADM | 03-Oct-2024 | White Paper

Our new flour blend is a carefully curated blend of clinically studied ingredients to help you create better-for-you bread that tastes great to help you...

Leveraging the Power of Enzymes to Maximize Value

Leveraging the Power of Enzymes to Maximize Value

Content provided by IFF | 18-Sep-2024 | Application Note

In today’s dynamic bakery industry, excelling requires more than just great taste. With tightening budgets and rising expectations, manufacturers must...

Improve texture, volume & appearance with Corbion

Improve texture, volume & appearance with Corbion

Content provided by Corbion | 02-Sep-2024 | White Paper

Consumers think twice about products that vary in quality. Delivering superior experiences consistently is the best way to keep consumers satisfied and...

Related suppliers

Follow us

Products

View more

Webinars