May 30, 2014 - Blogs
With the gluten-free market expected to reach $15.6 billion by 2016, it’s clear many consumers are going gluten-free for weight loss and reasons other than diagnosed medical conditions, such as celiac disease. This presents opportunities and challenges for food manufacturers.
A new report from The NPD Group found that while only 11 percent of U.S. households follow a gluten-free diet, about 1 in 4 consumers feel that gluten-free is good for everyone. The “Understanding the Gluten-Free Trend"report also found the general healthfulness of gluten-free foods is often offset by taste and cost barriers.
According to the report, only 25 percent of those living in a gluten-free home say celiac disease or gluten sensitivity is the main reason. Among the other reasons consumers cite for following a gluten-free diet are that it improves digestive health and eliminates toxins from the body.
This opens the door for food manufacturers to pay close to attention to all of the reasons for a gluten-free diet and connect the reasons with appropriate messages in order to better target their audience.
As mentioned earlier, consumers are dissatisfied with the high costs of gluten-free products and the taste of the products. In fact, half of gluten-free consumers say that they may not be willing to sacrifice taste in order to maintain a gluten-free diet; however, the most cited reason for choosing to not purchase a gluten-free product is that it was too expensive.
But food product developers have been hard at work creating gluten-free products that make the grade. In fact, one of the most challenging sectors has been that of baked goods. In the past, gluten-free baked goods lacked appealing texture, but new ingredients and processes are helping food product designers develop gluten-free products that resemble their gluten-containing counterparts, with similar texture, mouthfeel and flavor. We recently explored this subject in “The Joy of Gluten-Free Baking" free Digital Pulse Issue from Food Product Design. Download the issue to learn more about multiple ingredients that work together to replace gluten in bakery products.
Finally, careful consideration of pricing compared to alternatives that contain gluten will be of particular importance to the success of most gluten-free products, especially in the current economy. Continued improvement of the taste of gluten-free products will also be important in order to keep consumers purchasing in the gluten-free space.
To delve further into gluten-free formulating for a variety of food products, see “Gluten-Free Growth: Rethinking Reformulation."
With the gluten-free market expected to reach $15.6 billion by 2016, it’s clear many consumers are going gluten-free for weight loss and reasons other than diagnosed medical conditions, such as celiac disease. This presents opportunities and challenges for food manufacturers.
A new report from The NPD Group found that while only 11 percent of U.S. households follow a gluten-free diet, about 1 in 4 consumers feel that gluten-free is good for everyone. The “Understanding the Gluten-Free Trend"report also found the general healthfulness of gluten-free foods is often offset by taste and cost barriers.
According to the report, only 25 percent of those living in a gluten-free home say celiac disease or gluten sensitivity is the main reason. Among the other reasons consumers cite for following a gluten-free diet are that it improves digestive health and eliminates toxins from the body.
This opens the door for food manufacturers to pay close to attention to all of the reasons for a gluten-free diet and connect the reasons with appropriate messages in order to better target their audience.
As mentioned earlier, consumers are dissatisfied with the high costs of gluten-free products and the taste of the products. In fact, half of gluten-free consumers say that they may not be willing to sacrifice taste in order to maintain a gluten-free diet; however, the most cited reason for choosing to not purchase a gluten-free product is that it was too expensive.
But food product developers have been hard at work creating gluten-free products that make the grade. In fact, one of the most challenging sectors has been that of baked goods. In the past, gluten-free baked goods lacked appealing texture, but new ingredients and processes are helping food product designers develop gluten-free products that resemble their gluten-containing counterparts, with similar texture, mouthfeel and flavor. We recently explored this subject in “The Joy of Gluten-Free Baking" free Digital Pulse Issue from Food Product Design. Download the issue to learn more about multiple ingredients that work together to replace gluten in bakery products.
Finally, careful consideration of pricing compared to alternatives that contain gluten will be of particular importance to the success of most gluten-free products, especially in the current economy. Continued improvement of the taste of gluten-free products will also be important in order to keep consumers purchasing in the gluten-free space.
To delve further into gluten-free formulating for a variety of food products, see “Gluten-Free Growth: Rethinking Reformulation."
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