Worth a cool £90M in 2005 and on course to top £195M by 2010, the free from market is seeing growth that rivals in the ambient aisles can only dream of. However, the technical challenges of manufacturing non-allergenic foods mean that free from is still more hassle than it's worth for most large food companies, and the range, therefore, is still frustratingly limited, says Allergy UK chief executive Muriel Simmons.
"The range is improving, but to be honest, it needs to. We would love to see more chilled and frozen free from foods. Allergy and intolerance sufferers want convenience foods as much as anyone else."
The companies best equipped to take free from into new territory are typically small manufacturers with dedicated allergen-free plants, says Castle Kitchens, which has just launched a new range of chilled ready meals at Waitrose - a first for the industry.
Technical director Erica Sheward says: "There is clearly a market opportunity in chilled, but progress has been thwarted by practical difficulties for manufacturers and trepidation on the part of retailers."
The new Castle Farm Estate range includes a beef lasagne and cottage pie suitable for gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free and wheat-free diets; and a fish pie free from dairy, wheat, nuts and gluten, and is merchandised alongside standard products, at the same price. "Because they are side by side," says Sheward, "Waitrose was insistent that they were at the same price, which is tough, because free from products cost more to make."
Meanwhile, larger prepared meals suppliers have been reluctant to shell out large amounts of cash to segregate staff, equipment and raw materials for a niche product with short production runs and no guarantee of success.
However, they are starting to consider using rice and corn-based pastas to make gluten-free ready meals, says Mediterranean foods distributor Donatantonio, which is just launching a gluten-free pasta in the UK.
"We have supplied pasta to manufacturers to play around with," says a spokeswoman. "But things are still at an experimental stage."
While chilled gluten-free sandwiches under the Dietary Specials brand did not take the market by storm when they were launched a couple of years back, the bread used in them has been very successful in its own right, says Mike Lanfear, technical co-ordinator at brand owner Nutrition Point.
"This clearly shows that it wasn't the taste of the bread that was the problem; it is just hard to get people looking for gluten-free to visit the chilled section of a store if they don't usually go there. But chilled will take off, it's just a matter of time."
In the meantime, the company has been pushing its range of frozen pizzas, ready meals, pies and desserts, which are now stocked at all the leading supermarkets, he says. "Gluten-free Yorkshire Puddings were a challenge. You have to use gums, stabilisers and emulsifiers to replicate gluten, and this can make ingredients lists in some free from products look rather long."
Frustration in foodservice
If the supermarkets' chilled aisles are largely a no-go area for allergy sufferers, however, they are still light years ahead of the foodservice sector, says Sheward. "You can buy in free-from foods, but if they are prepared in the same area as standard products, the contamination risk is such that for most caterers, it's just not worth it, especially with something like nuts, where the consequences can be fatal."
However, that's not to stop manufacturers supplying packaged convenience products for consumers at catering outlets, says It's Nut Free founder Angela Russell. "My daughter is allergic to nuts, sesame and soya, and going out to eat was an absolute nightmare, so I decided to make her snacks myself."
Four years later, the company is supplying a host of leisure outlets and supermarkets with nut-free cookies, cakes, flapjacks, cereals and biscuits, and is keen to branch out into other products when it moves into a new factory in the summer, says Russell. "I want to move into new areas but we need to focus on the core products first."
Fickle Foods, another new business set up to fill the gap in the market for free from convenience foods, was also born of frustration, says founder Emma Killilea. "I was diagnosed with a wheat intolerance two years ago, and there was just nothing I could eat."
She is currently looking for a manufacturer able to produce her gluten- and lactose-free luxury cake bars, for the food-to-go-market. Supermarkets typically want six months' shelf-life, she says. "I'm only offering six weeks, so they are not my target market."
More established brand Trufree, which has a 10% share of the UK wheat-free market and saw sales grow 30% last year, is also focusing new product development (NPD) on "wider meal and snack solutions" for the food-to-go market, says business manager Sarah Cook. "Our focus for future NPD is to fill gaps within the category and improve pack formats, packaging and portion sizes to enhance the convenience element of our products."
Change the mindset
One company hoping to take the market by storm is Safetoeat, which takes a 'pan-allergy' approach by excluding all 12 key allergens from its new factory in Furness Vale. This makes life easier for consumers and retailers, says founder Martin Hopkins (see main picture): "Shelf space is limited, so I am maximising my opportunities."
Safetoeat, which currently makes premium soups and sauces, might branch out into chilled ready meals in future, he says. However, some consumer re-education might be needed. "Our products taste fantastic," he says. "But they don't always look exactly the same as standard varieties because if you don't have modified starch or other thickeners, for example, soups and sauces will separate."
While there are exciting new free from products from gluten-free beer to pretzels hitting shelves every week, a shift in attitude is required if the market is really going to take off, he says. "Free from should not be about doing without; with some products, it really is a case of do I eat the cardboard box or its contents?"
By contrast, companies like Alpro Soya have redefined the market by selling soy-based products as a healthy lifestyle choice rather than as a solution to food intolerance, he says.
"At Safetoeat, above all, we're making delicious food. What people seem to forget is that for everyone with an intolerance or allergy, there are partners, families and friends that don't want to prepare separate meals.
"Why can't they all eat the same food for a change? If you look at it this way, the market is potentially huge." FM
May contain ...
Manufacturers want to protect themselves against litigation without unnecessarily restricting their customer base with blanket 'may contains' statements, says Eversheds partner Owen Warnock. "There is now some guidance from the Food Standards Agency on this. It is also encouraging companies to be more specific - for example, could you specify 'hazelnuts' on a label rather than just 'nuts'?"
Risk can be controlled through following Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point principles and good manufacturing practice, adds Simon Flanagan at Reading Scientific Services. However, common sense is also needed when it comes to labelling decisions for allergens that are not constituent parts of the product, he says.
"A fraction of a peanut can cause a fatal allergic reaction; the same amount of celery cannot. I guess that should help you decide whether it is absolutely necessary to put something on the label or not."
Moo-ving on up...
One of the most exciting new launches in the sector is lactofree - cow's milk with the lactose filtered out. The product, which is produced by Arla Foods UK and has secured listings at all of the leading supermarkets, is ideal for making chocolate, desserts, biscuits and other products, says a spokesman. "We're already talking to some major manufacturers about this. It's perfect for people that are lactose intolerant but don't really like the taste of soya milk."
Food allergy and intolerance: the facts
The market - Mintel estimates the UK free-from market was worth £90M in 2005 (of which gluten/wheat-free represents £48M and dairy-free, £32M). It is predicted to reach £195M by 2010
The consumer - Approximately 1-2% of adults and 5-8% of children have food allergies. However, a considerably larger percentage is either intolerant to wheat or dairy, or deliberately avoids them for health or lifestyle reasons
The law - On November 25, 2005, it became a legal requirement to label 12 allergenic foods and their derivatives on packaging. They are: gluten; tree nuts; peanuts; celery; mustard; milk (and its derivatives such as cheese, whey and casein); sesame; egg; soya; sulphites; shell fish and fish