Sales of free-from products are expected to surpass £500m in the UK alone this year, as consumer interest in the health benefits of free-from products continues to grow.
Over the past six months, a third of British consumers have bought or eaten free-from food, according to new analysis from Mintel, with almost 20% saying they choose to eat free-from products because they are trying to lose weight.
Sales of free-from foods are forecast to grow by 13% to reach £531m this year, up from an estimated £470m last year. Mintel also predicts that the market will grow further in the coming years, reaching £673m by 2020. Of the third of Brits who have bought or eaten free-from foods in the past six month, 22% have eaten gluten-free, 19% have opted for dairy substitutes, and wheat-free and lactose-free have both attracted 16% apiece.
Additionally the growth in the market comes alongside a rise in product innovation. Mintel research shows that 12% of new food products launched in the UK in 2015 carried a gluten-free claim, up from 7% in 2011.
Mintel head of UK food, drink and foodservice research Kiti Soininen said: “The free-from market enjoyed remarkable growth in 2015, and further growth is likely to come from the existing pool of users intending to spend more. The growing availability of free-from food and drink products at mainstream supermarkets has allowed established users to widen their repertoires, with easy availability potentially prompting more regular use. ”
Almost 40% of consumers who had eaten free-from products said they had done so because it makes them feel better, over one in four said they or someone else in their household did it for general health reasons, and almost one in five said that they did so because they were intolerant to a certain type of food. The same proportion – 19% – opted for free-from food because they were trying to lose weight.
Soininen continued: “The ‘health halo’ of free-from foods is a key driver of uptake and has resulted in a much larger group of users than the limited number of actual or suspected allergy or intolerance sufferers. However, this leaves the free-from food category exposed to changes in consumer opinion and media coverage. The importance of health in driving uptake also means that companies need to ensure that nutrition profiles are best in class.
“Among non-users, price remains a key barrier to wider adoption of free-from foods. This comes as little surprise given that the free-from variants of many staple foods are noticeably more expensive than the standard ones. The growth of the market should bring about scale benefits, helping to bring down prices to some extent.”
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