The free-from foods market is widening into new categories and increasingly moving into the mainstream with introductions from major manufacturers and brands, according to Innova Market Insights.
Innova reports the trend is widening out beyond gluten-free and lactose-free products to include broader definitions such as dairy-free, additive- and preservative- free and even, increasingly, GM-free.
Leading supermarket multiples are also dedicating more shelf-space and improving in-store signage, as well as offering their own brand ranges in many instances, Innova notes.
According to Lu Ann Williams, director of innovation at Innova, nearly 13 per cent of total food and drink launches recorded globally in 2013 used additive- and/or preservative-free claims, up from 10 per cent in 2008.
“While claims using the term ‘natural’ have increasingly come under fire for lack of clarity regarding definition, the use of additive-free and preservative-free claims has been able to move forward relatively unhindered.”
“Interest in naturalness is still highly evident, however, and is also reflected in the growing use of GM-free labelling, although it remains relatively limited on a global scale,” she says.
According to Innova, just 2.3 per cent of global launches tracked used GM-free labelling in 2013. Snacks, bakery and dairy had the largest number of launches, reflecting the significance of GM ingredients in sectors using high levels of cereals for food or feed, ahead of meat, fish and eggs, confectionery and ready meals.
Gluten-free lines also continue to see rising availability, increasingly moving out of the specialist dietetic sector and into the mainstream market. Nearly 8 per cent of product launches recorded in 2013 used a gluten-free positioning, rising to 10 per cent in Western Europe and nearly 14 per cent in the USA.
Innova says this growth is partly due to improved labelling regulations, but also to rising awareness of gluten intolerance in the diet and the development of more mainstream and good-tasting gluten-free products across a range of food and drinks sectors.
“It is clear that the free-from sector is set for further growth, with interest continuing to spread from those diagnosed as specific allergies and intolerances, via the self-diagnosed to those with a more general interest in health and wellbeing,” Williams says.
Coles is among those to embrace the Free From product trend with its new gluten free range.
