The increasing demand for gluten- and allergen-free foods has been an unmissable trend in the foodservice sector in recent years.
As demand has grown, we’ve noted a concerted effort from manufacturers to increase the overall quality of their products, which in turn is helping to drive demand for allergen-free food.
Both the general public’s increasing awareness of food intolerances and the introduction of the new FIC regulations in December have contributed to the rising demand in gluten-free products.
As a result, caterers are becoming increasingly focused on providing menu options for as broad a range of customers as possible.
A few years ago, simply having vegetarian options on a menu might have sufficed for many caterers. But by catering for conditions such as coeliac disease or allergies to eggs, lactose or other ingredients, many are now generating loyal custom from diners that struggle to find appropriate menu options elsewhere.
The pressure then turns on suppliers to meet this increasing demand. Over the last 12 months we’ve experienced a significant rise in the quantity and quality of gluten-free products being made available, and we expect a similar rise in prominence for products that cater to other allergies going forward.
Taking gluten-free foods as an example, our Erudus One database, which collects FIC data on all products supplied to our wholesaler members, currently lists 9,661 products that are gluten-free, more than 45% of the total number of products and a figure that has risen year-on-year.
In particular the dessert, bread and bakery sectors have embraced change, but there’s been significant uptake elsewhere in products you wouldn’t immediately associate with containing gluten. For example, we’ve just launched five own-label soups that are gluten-free, canned goods, chips, fruit pie fillings and ethnic sauces to name just a few other items already on our database. We are also set to add a gluten-free gravy powder to our range which is exclusive to Fairway and extremely rare in the current market.
While the volume and variety of products has undoubtedly increased, what we’ve really noticed is a drastic improvement in the taste and overall quality of products.
A few years ago, we sampled a gluten-free chocolate cake that was under consideration for our own-label range, which was very poor. It had a strange, synthetic taste and an odd mouth-feel that was really unpalatable – feedback that we heard echoed from elsewhere in the foodservice sector.
I’m sure that we weren’t alone in providing negative feedback on specially designed gluten-free products, and to their credit suppliers have worked really hard to address the issue. A few weeks ago we sampled another set of desserts, and you genuinely couldn’t tell that they were gluten-free.
The quality has drastically improved from that of similar products just a couple of years ago, and I believe has been a significant factor in the increasing prominence of allergen-free foods. What reason is there to not stock a gluten-free chocolate cake when it now tastes just as good as its non-GF counterpart?
Producers should be congratulated for the efforts they are making to improve the taste of products for gluten-free customers. The challenge for them now is to repeat that success for customers with other allergen requirements.
It’s this increased focus on quality that will help continue to drive growth in allergen-free products. As awareness on intolerances to other ingredients rises, I am confident that we’ll see similar increases in quantity and quality of other specially-produced items.
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