Gluten-free bakery brand Genius Foods has launched a new foodservice line, including a range of sweet and savoury baked goods.
Edinburgh-based Genius has developed the line for coffee and sandwich shops and bakery outlets in response to research, which revealed 96% of individuals with a gluten intolerance were frustrated at the lack of suitable foods when eating out.
The range consists of bread loaves, pittas, naan breads and pancakes, alongside sweet options such as fruit loaves, teacakes and mince pies.
Roz Cuschieri, chief executive of Genius, said: “Food outlets such as restaurants and hotels are missing out on hundreds of millions of pounds of business by failing to meet the requirements of the coeliac community and others who prefer to avoid eating gluten as a lifestyle choice.
“We hope that the launch of our extended range will make it easier for the food hospitality industry to cater for the requirements of this significant group of consumers.”
Customers will be able to purchase ambient products directly from Genius, as well as frozen bread from Northampton-based Central Foods.
Gordon Lauder, managing director of Central Foods, said: “More and more of our customers are requesting high-quality gluten-free products and it is important we can satisfy this market requirement. Our partnership with Genius Foods will enable us to provide great-tasting gluten-free foods to wholesalers and end-user caterers.”
The gluten-free market will be worth £234m a year by 2014, up from £143m in 2009, according to latest statistics from Datamonitor. Genius has also discovered that a third of UK consumers either regularly buy gluten-free foods or were considering doing so in the next 12 months.
Genius Foods has more than a 50% share in the free-from bread category in the UK, and has driven 250% growth in the product category since its launch in June 2009, according to Kantar Worldpanel.
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