Free-from foods began as an alternative for those with allergies. They offer the freedom to eat out or buy convenience meals without having to cook from scratch but with the confidence that they are free-from allergens.
The sector has evolved with its own awards and sections in many supermarkets. Mintel recently published some interesting findings in its Free-from Foods UK 2016 report. Over a six-month period, a third of us Brits chose free-from foods. And while one in five (19%) chose them because of allergies or intolerances, one in four (27%) did so in the name of a healthier lifestyle.
Gluten-free products are the most popular with 22% buying or eating them, followed by 19% for dairy-free, 16% wheat-free and 16% lactose-free.
Free-from has clearly evolved to a greater consumer base. And with turnover predicted to hit half a billion by 2017, it’s big business.
If you’d like to develop your product as free-from, here are some of the things you need to think about.
- Begin by considering the function of the ingredient you’re replacing. This will be a huge help in deciding on an alternative. For instance, gluten is a protein that provides structure, elasticity and binding so it’s prudent to consider which of those elements you need to address in your free-from product.
- Understand the alternatives. It pays to understand the full range of alternatives at your disposal and what their benefits and properties are. Taking the gluten-free example again, xanthan and guar gum are common replacers, but guar is far less elastic than xanthan. Knowing the alternatives will give you a better grasp of what you can and can’t achieve. Some products are challenging to re-create without their allergen-inducing ingredients and may not be financially viable.
- Make your manufacturing free-from. Many products simply don’t need to contain all the allergens they do. We’ve all seen those ‘may contain’ warnings – the result of using a manufacturing facility that also processes the allergen in other products (e.g. nuts). If you can protect your manufacturing process you can reduce the allergens and widen your customer appeal.
- Aim for high quality. Free-from doesn’t have to mean inferior to the allergen-containing equivalent, but sadly many products are poor cousins. Those that stand out are either amazingly similar to the allergen’s mouth-feel and taste, or provide something new and equally delicious.
- Rebrand your existing product. Many products are naturally free-from so if you already have a range of products, take another look. If you can legitimately claim free-from gluten, for example, then why not rebrand that product to speak to a broader range of consumers?
