As part of a focus group study commissioned by the free from specialist, gluten and wheat free shoppers were questioned about their shopping habits and what they wanted from the sector, with consumers admitting that they often took so much care finding a product that was right for them that once they had, new products or promotions were unlikely to encourage them to shop around.
In fact, the research conducted by an independent agency found that loyalty to products outweighed that of brands and manufacturers, with many of the gluten free consumers choosing to buy products on their taste, quality and ingredients rather than price and brand, then purchasing habitually once they found a product they liked.
Gluten free consumers were also less likely to switch to different products from advertising and in-store displays and instead used doctors, dieticians, friends, other sufferers and retailers’ online shopping sites as sources of information about products.
Emma Herring, retail brand manager at Dr Schär UK, said: “Many gluten and wheat free consumers have learnt not to instinctively trust new products and so rely on heritage products and brands that they know well. This research is an important insight into the changing gluten free consumer and their purchasing behaviour.”
There were four common key reasons for consumers purchasing free from food including convenience, key staples, favourites, and kids. Many consumers admitted that they often bought products which ensured their families and children on a specialist diet do not feel marginalised at mealtimes.
Meanwhile, poor packaging put some shoppers off from trying new products as they were left confused over which products were suitable for those on a special diet. Instead, respondents suggested a universal colour coding system to be worked across all free from brands to help make it easier to see who each product was suitable for.
Finally, the focus groups also revealed that gluten free shoppers were willing for retailers to help them manage their diets and wanted to see more sampling events, point of display initiatives such as recipe cards and price point promotions such as rollbacks.
Source: Dr Schär UK
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