Brands drive growth as gluten and wheat free market continues to boom

The gluten and wheat free market in the UK is continuing to show strong growth, according to latest market figures from gluten free brand leaders, DS-gluten free.

Latest Kantar Worldpanel data (52 w/e 26 December 2010), commissioned by DS-gluten free, shows that the total gluten and wheat free market is now worth more than £120.2 million – up 14.8 per cent year on year.

Brands are growing ahead of the market at 17.3 per cent, with private labels under-trading at 9.3 per cent.

In retail, Tesco and Sainsbury’s represent 54 per cent of the market, with Asda, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose showing double digit growth year on year.

Bread, sweet biscuits and cakes are proving the top drivers of value sales, with frozen gluten and wheat free products also performing well.

Emma Herring, Retail Brand Manager at DS-gluten free, said: “It’s great to see the market continuing to grow at such a rapid pace, and brands such as DS-gluten free are still performing incredibly well. In fact, we continue to be the number one brand in the UK, and second in the overall gluten free sector – which includes both brands and private label – after the Tesco private label range.

“Category consumers do still seem to turn to heritage brands when making purchasing decisions and relatively new entries into the market, such as the M&S free from range, have helped grow the market further still.

“There’s tremendous potential for retailers to tap further into this market. This is definitely going to be another exciting year for the gluten free sector, and with one in 100 people in the UK now thought to have coeliac disease, and many others deciding to follow a gluten free diet for lifestyle reasons, there’s real potential for continued and significant sector growth.

For more information on DS-gluten free, please visit www.dietaryspecials.co.uk