Health is the number one reason for gluten-free buys
The survey of 100 gluten-free shoppers was conducted by research firm BuzzBack and revealed that 24% of respondents chose gluten-free products to lose weight and 28% did so to improve their energy levels.
The top reasons to buy gluten-free products were to “live a healthier lifestyle, having a gluten intolerance and because they were easier for digestion”, BuzzBack claimed.
The top reasons men gave for purchasing gluten-free products were to “live a healthier lifestyle, aid in digestion and reduce the risk of heart disease”.
Almost a quarter (22%) said they always bought gluten-free when shopping. See the bottom of this article for an infographic on BuzzBack’s research.
‘Increasing demand’
A spokeswoman for Coeliac UK told FoodManufacture.co.uk that although currently only 1% of the UK population have coeliac disease, more people are being diagnosed and increasing the demand for gluten-free products.
“The market is increasing more as more people are being diagnosed; more people are in need of the products,” she added. “If more people are choosing gluten-free, but haven’t been diagnosed it will further increase demand.”
However, she encouraged people not to self-diagnose themselves as coeliac, as they could make it impossible for doctors to tell if they were intolerant to gluten in the first place.
“If people cut down on gluten and then get tested it will give a false negative to them having an intolerance. They will then have to go back to eating gluten for six weeks and be re-tested to find out if there is an actual intolerance there.”
Coeliac disease is an autoimmune complaint caused by an intolerance to gluten that could lead to a number of health problems in later life. These included small bowel cancer, infertility and osteoporosis if left undiagnosed, she warned.
Only 10–15% of people with the condition are diagnosed, leaving an estimated 500,000 people in the UK undiagnosed, Coeliac UK claimed.
The charity is running an awareness week about the condition from Monday May 12–18.
‘Gluten-free Guarantee’
As part of the week it is running a ‘Gluten-free Guarantee’ campaign, which asks retailers to commit to stocking eight core items of gluten-free food. This would be designed to make it easier for people with the condition to manage their diet, which is their only treatment.
The charity is asking people across the UK to tell them how many of the eight gluten-free staple items they can find. The items are: white bread, pasta, cereal, flour, cereal bars, rolls, crackers and other bread (brown or seeded).
Sarah Sleet, ceo of Coeliac UK, said she wanted to ensure there was sufficient stock in supermarkets for the “growing market of people” who depend on gluten-free food.
“Can you imagine going into your local supermarket and there is no bread you can eat, not one loaf, not one slice?” she added. “And when you check out the pasta, cereal or flour again there is nothing available on the shelf which means you have to trawl around two or three stores in order to be able to find your staple foods.”
