Free-from

Ensuring foods taste good when key ingredients are removed is a challenge. But it's one manufacturers are rising to.

One person in 100 suffers a degree of intolerance to gluten while one in 200 is allergic to nuts, according to the British Nutrition Foundation.

Sales of free-from have risen accordingly, with 21% of UK consumers claiming to have bought free-from wheat and gluten foods last year, according to A Snapshot Of Food Sensitivities In The UK 2006, carried out by Stiletto Foods' Mrs Crimble's brand.

Stiletto Foods' MD Jeremy Woods attributes rising sales to the growing popularity of free-from food and improvements in recipe formulations.

"The big thing for us is whether you can make products that taste good enough for everyone, without them realising they're free-from," he says. "People are more aware that diet affects your health. I don't think it's a fad. Consumers are more aware they have to cut down on certain things.

Others think the fact that free-from can taste different is not such an issue . "It's like asking why a Golden Delicious apple doesn't taste like a Cox's Orange Pippin," argues Clare Marriage, marketing director for gluten-free food producer Doves Farm Foods. "The different taste and texture is just a characteristic of the product."

It is not just allergy and intolerance sufferers that are turning to free-from products. "From talking to consumers there is a growing number who want to eat free-from food," she says.

"They perceive it as healthier or just want something different. Some people are in the position where they are cooking and use all gluten-free products because one person can't eat gluten and they don't want that person to be left out."

Woods doesn't see this as a fad. He says the popularity of free-from is following a similar vein to organic food, which has gone mainstream. "I see free-from migrating into the mainstream area over the next year as healthy eating is a long-term trend . There should be a specific fixture."

But it's not just non-allergy sufferers who are increasingly interested in this category. Marriage says the target audience is rising because the number of people suffering from allergies in the UK is also increasing. "A lot of retailers are listening to people with allergies and creating a free-from area," she says. "Some retailers are asking us for proposals for new ideas and I think this year will be an exciting one in terms of what will appear and this will create greater competition for space."

One issue for consumers following a free-from diet is packaging. Visual icons rather than simple text are more effective at communicating who a particular food is for, according to brand and design group Dragon.

In a report on how free-from food is perceived, it highlights Tesco's tick-list mechanism as an example of good practice in making important information accessible quickly.

Whether products use words or icons, consumer demand is growing and, with it, activity from the retailers. Asda's range focuses on gluten and wheat-free food and now includes more than 150 products. Sainsbury's now has 160 products, 69 of which are own label.

"Customers are positive about the fact that we're trying to do more to meet their dietary needs. But they tell us we need to do more, including increasing and improving the ranges available ," says Julie Eustance, head of free-from at Asda.

"We have seen strong sales growth, but we still need to do more for specific ranges and also own-label ranges across the store."

Eustance says the free-from market is worth £90m but stresses that there still needs to be far more innovation in the market.

"There is some movement towards innovation but there is still a long way to go to truly meet the demand for free-from products," she says.

"Our customers want more choice and healthier options. They want to see better visual appearance, quality and taste. They also tell us they want lower prices or more promotional activity. We still have a lot of work to do."

One area that isn't benefiting from the general increase in demand for free-from is the nut-free category, according to Angela Russell, founder of manufacturer It's Nut Free.

"Nut-free is such a niche market that it's always going to be an uphill struggle to make people realise there are products out there.

"Nut-free isn't the same as gluten-free because some people, even without allergies, turn to products as they believe cutting out gluten or wheat will make you lose weight or give you health benefits. People don't turn to a nut-free diet, because nuts are healthy."

Despite sales rising tenfold in the five years since she started the business, Russell says it's difficult to get nut-free products listed in supermarkets.

"We're looking for more listings as some supermarkets just don't know where to put our products because their free-from aisles are mainly gluten or wheat-free," she says.

"Nut-free is being left behind because some retailers and consumers worry about contamination. All our products are double sealed but retailers are worried about placing them next to gluten-free products, which may contain nuts."n