Coinciding with Coeliac Awareness Month, bakery brands have launched a raft of new gluten-free products for UK consumers.
While the NPD leans more heavily towards sweet treats such as wafers, biscuits, macaroons, and traybakes, it also includes savoury options like salted crackers and sourdough burger buns catering for inclusive BBQ gatherings.
Check out below for full details on each new baked goods made without gluten:
Gluten Free Tim Tam Originals, Arnott’s
Having followed up its 2024 landing on UK shores (well, in retailers) with a new Extra Chocolaty version at the start of this year, Australian brand Tim Tam has come out with a gluten-free variant of its Original chocolate biscuit line. The products are available at Waitrose stores (rsp: £3.50 | 150g pack), and feature the same Tim Tam combination of crunchy biscuit, smooth cream centre, and chocolate flavour coating – which itself is historically based on McVitie’s Penguins.
“Tim Tam is Australia’s favourite chocolaty biscuit and we’ve been blown away by how much Brits have embraced it,” commented Talyah Falabella, Tim Tam international marcomms manager. “As we continue our mission to bring a taste of Australia to the UK, we are excited to now offer our delicious Tim Tam Gluten-Free, so more Brits can indulge in this much-loved Aussie icon.”
The Tim Tam brand celebrated its 60th anniversary last year and is produced by Australia’s largest biscuit manufacturer Arnott’s.
Pink Cheetahs wafers, Crave
Free-from snack brand Crave has expanded its sweet biscuit portfolio with a gluten-free and vegan wafer biscuit, said to be a first in the UK. Branded as Pink Cheetahs, and coloured accordingly, the new vanilla cream-filled wafers (rsp: £2 for a 16-pack) are available in 480 Sainsbury’s stores.
Joining Bisco’s sprinkle biscuits from Crave already on the Sainsbury’s shelves, the wafers tap into the rising consumer trend of nostalgia-driven purchases and the growth of the sweet biscuits market, noted the company. Amidst cost-of-living pressures, the UK sweet biscuit market rose volume sales by 1.5% in 2023 [Mintel data] and is currently valued at £3.5bn – it is forecast to reach £4.8bn by 2030.
The launch also taps into growing demand for allergen-free foods, with the UK free-from market now worth £3.9bn [Kantar WorldPanel data, 2024]. According to 2024 data from the Food Standards Agency and AllergyUK, one in 20 adults in the UK has a confirmed food allergy, nearly a third have food sensitivities, whilst one in 12 young children are affected by food allergies.
Rocky Roads, Genius Foods x Candy Kittens
Gluten-free bakery brand Genius has collaborated with gourmet sweet brand Candy Kittens to create a new sweet treat which is both gluten free and vegan. The dark chocolate Rocky Roads (rsp: £4 for a four-pack) feature inclusions of crunchy gluten free biscuit along with mini versions of Candy Kittens’ bestselling Wild Strawberry sweets.
They have been initially launched at the free from sections of Morrisons stores and Ocado, ahead of a wider roll out at Tesco and Waitrose from June. “This is a proud moment for Genius Foods,” said CEO Stephen Hann, who assumed the role from the start of this year. “Partnering with Candy Kittens has allowed us to push boundaries and deliver a truly standout product for Free From consumers. It represents everything we want the future of free from to be, a space where no one needs to miss out.”
The Rocky Roads line will become the first product to hit the market with Genius’ refreshed branding. The collaboration is also said to arrive at a pivotal time for the Scottish supplier, which has posted losses for three straight years but is looking to grow under its new leadership having received a £4m loan last year from its owner Katjes Greenfood. Genius has its head office in Edinburgh and operates a manufacturing site in nearby Bathgate.
Lemon Macarons, Mrs Crimble’s
The free-from cake brand, owned by Ecotone UK, is innovating in on-trend citrus fruit flavours with the launch of new Lemon Macaroons.
Available in Co-op stores nationwdie, the new variant (rsp: £1.50 for a pack of six) offers zesty flavour married with the sweetness of coconut. It joins Mrs Crimble’s Big Macaroons range which includes Coconut, Big Choc and Vegan variants as well as the more recent additions of Caramel and Double Choc.
The NPD was driven by emerging trends, said the company, with lemon being the third most popular flavour in the cake category [Circana, 22 February 2025]. ”We crafted our latest product with our loyal consumers in mind, having asked our community via social media what flavour they most wanted to see,” commented Caroline Mitchell, innovation controller at Ecotone UK. “This means we can make sure we’re meeting modern demands in free from, as well as captivating a new audience, especially among gen-z who we know are the leaders in embracing new flavours.”
Caramelised biscuits and salted crackers, Nairn’s
Another Edinburgh-based gluten-free specialist is Nairn’s, which is also one eying the sweet biscuit category for growth. It has recently introduced Caramelised Biscuit Moments (rsp: £2.20 | 170g pack), billed as being first-to-market for such a gluten-free product.
The biscuits are described as having a light and crunchy texture, perfect for dunking or eating with a drink, plus with 35% less sugar than similar lines. They are available in Sainsbury’s and Asda, and can be acquired in a foodservice portion pack as well.
In addition, Nairn’s has launched new gluten-free salted crackers, branded as Snaks. Priced at £2.20 for a 125g pack, they are said to be moreish crackers ideal for sharing with a strong appeal amongst 18- to 34-year-old shoppers.
The company noted it had been another year of growth for its brand with sales up by 9% ahead of the total gluten free market growth of 6.6% [Nielsen data for the 52w/e 22 February 2025].
Sourdough burger buns, The Gluten Free Bakery
This bakery business, founded in Peckham, southeast London, in 2025, specialises in handcrafted sourdough products that are free from all 14 major allergens as well as being 100% plant based. While its core range is available year-round, it introduces seasonal lines throughout the calendar to “keep things fresh and exciting”.
For summer – aka BBQ season – it has brought back its popular gluten-free sourdough burger buns. Available for online order between May and August, they are priced at £5.99 for a pack of five.
“Looking ahead, we have some exciting new product launches planned for later this year as we continue to innovate in the free-from space,” co-founder and CEO Rana Righton told British Baker.
Almond Biscotti, White Rabbit
Gluten-free Italian food specialist White Rabbit has expanded from chilled and frozen pizza products to take on the ambient biscuit aisle with its new Almond Biscotti. The artisanal sweet treats (rsp: £2.95 | 150g pack) are available at Sainsbury’s stores and via Ocado, and are hand-rolled and twice-baked in Italy using fresh almond pieces. This delivers an authentic foodie taste experience that targets snacking and seasonal gifting occasions, said the Oxford-based business.
The launch comes after White Rabbit invested £500k in a bold brand refresh, new recipes, and major upgrade of its dedicated gluten-free bakery. It has risen to become the second largest gluten-free pizza brand in the UK [The Grocer Pizza Report 2024] after Dr. Oetker, and is growing six times faster than the total gluten free market [Nielsen data, 52w/e 21 September 2024].
“Our mission at White Rabbit has been the same from the start: to bring compromise free, high-quality gluten-free meal solutions to the category for the c.7m gluten-free consumers that now make up a staggering one in five of UK households,” said White Rabbit co-founder and CEO Nick Croft-Simon, citing a Mintel report from 2023.
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