I ate spaghetti on Saturday.

While not the most exciting sentence I’ve ever written for The Grocer (though probably not the dullest), this occasion was notable for a couple of reasons.

1. I ate it in a 14th-century castle on a cliff top in northern Italy (and, despite what readers might have assumed, jet-setting around Europe is not something hacks at The Grocer do every day).

2. The spaghetti was a new gluten-free product containing millet that helped to make it virtually indistinguishable from traditional pasta served al dente (I even picked up some of the lingo).

The reason for my trip – and for the six-course gluten-free gala dinner served that night – was the 10th anniversary of an R&D facility opened in Trieste by Dr Schar, a business best known in the UK for its brands DS Gluten Free and Glutafin.

Dr Schar marked the occasion with a symposium in which researchers, medical professionals, retailers and consumer groups discussed the development of the gluten-free food category and how it might further evolve and grow.

The event opened my eyes to the potential of free-from, which is already a lively market in the UK and has seen launches from major players including US giant Boulder Brands this year.

One example of this potential was massive Italian pizza chain Rossopomodoro, which has recently opened sites in London. Owner Giuseppe Falco told delegates gluten-free pizza now accounted for 2% of his business’s total sales in Italy, rising to 3% when other gluten-free products including cakes were factored in.

There was also much talk of ‘ancient grains’ such as quinoa and buckwheat, which are attracting growing interest outside the gluten-free market in products including breads and baby foods. For consumers eating a gluten-free diet, whether through choice of because they have been diagnosed with coeliac disease, the excellent nutrient profile of such ingredients can make a big contribution to a balanced gluten-free diet, the symposium heard.

The benefits and opportunities offered by these grains - and other gluten-free cereals such as sorghum, oats and millet (which I had previously associated only with bird seed and budgies) - extend beyond the free-from category. They can, for example, provide suppliers and food developers with an alternative to bread wheat, which plant researcher Dr Luud Gilissen said can now be found in more than 30% of packaged supermarket foods including soups, sauces, drinks and confectionery.

Leaving aside the potential health benefits, I left this weekend’s event excited about the diversity alternative grains can bring to the food and drinks market. As more than one speaker pointed out, their use could stretch to the brewing industry and the development of beers made from amaranth, quinoa or even millet (which would give a whole new meaning to the morning-after phrase: I’ve got a mouth like the bottom of a bird cage).

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