One of our 10 Things You Need To Know About… Free-from

Paleo is picking up the pace in grocery. There’s a lot of potential in the so-called caveman diet – whose followers exclude food groups such as dairy, legumes and grains.

“Grain free is the new gluten free,” says Primal Pantry founder Suzie Walker, noting it isn’t just paleo’s dedicated army of followers stalking the products in the grocery aisles. “There’s a massive opportunity for grocery here but the biggest hurdle we have is shoppers don’t know where to find us so we need education in store and at the fixtures.”

Primal Pantry is currently in talks with investors to secure its largest-ever funding to date and has won listings with Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Tesco and Ocado, among others. “It’s a small market but growing so it’s up for retailers to grab it whether through bars, cereals or a savoury snack,” Walker adds.

Aldi has recently jumped on the bandwagon with the launch of a grain-free range under The Foodie Market brand, featuring the tagline ‘snacking like our forefathers’.

Bioglan Superfoods, meanwhile, is tripling the size of its Raw Bites range, made with cold-pressed fruit and nut pieces. “Consumers no longer just look for gluten or dairy free, they want to choose a product that ticks as many boxes as possible in terms of health credentials; the more the better,” says Lauren McPherson, brand manager at Bioglan Superfoods.

“There is a definite opportunity for these kind of products in free-from aisles. The paleo eating movement and the idea that overly processed foods should be avoided is here to stay and retailers need to cater for this.”

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