Battle of the Breads

27 May 2013

Battle of the Breads

The humble loaf of bread could be under threat from the new kid in town, figures* show a 22 per cent increase in the sale of gluten-free (GF) bread products at New World stores in the past 12 months, with Vogels leading the charge as the most popular in the range.

A decade ago, anyone attempting to eat a GF cake or biscuit needed a hot drink to help them swallow it, and a bib to catch the crumbs as it crumbled. Nowadays the moisture content has increased, along with the range, and data shows more than 50 different types of GF biscuits and rice crackers are now for sale at New World.

Sue Clay, Executive Officer of Coeliac New Zealand agrees it’s now far easier to shop for GF products in supermarkets.

“The quality has improved and the variety is much better than what it has been in previous years” says Clay.

The murky waters of ingredient checking that come with a GF diet are now much clearer, research has shown that whilst customers like shelf-labels that detail whether a product is GF, where possible, they prefer to shop in a dedicated section.

The most important meal of the day is also going GF, with an 8 per cent sales increase of GF breakfast cereal*. Hubbards Thank Goodness and Healtheries Simple are the best sellers in the breakfast cereal battle. Coeliacs and those who’ve ditched the Atkins for a GF diet can choose from over 20 different pasta’s, with San Remo the most popular.

“In the past five years we’ve seen a huge increase in the demand for GF products so we’ve really focussed on being able to provide that for shoppers, we’re also trying to expand the range of egg and dairy free products,” says Steve Bayliss, Foodstuffs New Zealand, General Manager Marketing.

To keep the faith for those who can’t or don’t like to eat gluten, New World is sponsoring the Gluten Free Food and Allergy Shows in Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch.

Gone are the days of the GF sawdust cake, but those who still can’t find what they’re looking for can now reach for their apron – with more than 40 different ingredients for GF baking on the supermarket shelves.

*All research figures collected from Nielsens.
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