Cereal Partners is exploring options for extending its gluten-free offer following the wider rollout of its Gluten Free Corn Flakes.

The cereal made its debut in 390 Asda stores last month, and distribution is this week being expanded into Tesco.

The Corn Flakes - which are described by Cereal Partners as the UK’s first gluten-free cereal to be stocked in the mainstream cereal aisle - are sold in 500g boxes in two varieties: traditional (rsp: £1.99) and honey (rsp: £2.19).

Cereal Partners - a joint venture between Nestlé and General Mills - said the two products already accounted for more than 25% of Asda’s gluten-free ready-to-eat cereal sales.

The business would look to expand the reach of gluten-free products, said marketing controller Sarah Johnson, adding Cereal Partners had a “pipeline of innovation” to help it grow the appeal of gluten-free options.

Johnson said the Corn Flakes, produced at Cereal Partners’ site in Bromborough, had been developed to attract consumers who had previously rejected ready-to-eat cereals.

“It is a truly mainstream offering,” she added. “It is from a brand that’s known and trusted, and is a great-tasting quality product, at a mainstream price point, sited in the mainstream aisle.”

The total free-from market had grown 19.9% to £355m [Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 14 April 2014], but Johnson claimed consumer reservations about taste and price were preventing the gluten-free market growing even faster.

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