Assessing consumer demand for gluten-free products in the grocery sector Dr. Valentina Stojceska Brunel University London Valentina.Stojceska@brunel.ac.uk
Presentation outline Introduction/Coeliac Disease/ Gluten/ Gluten free diet Availability of Gluten - free products on the British market Market research/ nutritional consideration/ shelf life/ The perception of gluten free products by coeliac and non-coeliac consumers Customers/consumers expectations
Coeliac Disease... What is it? It is an autoimmune response in people who can not tolerate gluten It induces an immunological toxic reaction Sufferers have small intestine inflammation that leads to malabsorption of nutrients The only treatment is a strict life long gluten free diet It affects 1 to 5% of people worldwide 3
Who needs gluten-free products? Four groups of people. Those with Coeliac disease with wheat allergies who depend on a low protein diet of avoiding wheat as a healthy lifestyle choice 4
What is Gluten? It is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye gives elasticity to dough helping it rise keep its shape gives the final product a chewy texture 5
Gluten containing products Breads and cereals made from wheat, barley and rye Most breakfast cereals Wheat flour Wheat pasta, noodles Semolina, couscous, burghul Wheat biscuits, cakes, pastry and scones Wheat crumbed and battered food Wheat pastry foods e.g. pies, pizza 6
Common foods with hidden gluten Confectionary Sausages Sauces dressings and other condiments Canned soups Stock cubes, malted and cereal drinks Yeast extract spreads Soy milk Custard powder Icing sugar mixture Baking powder Beer 7
Gluten-contain grains Wheat Barley Rye Oats Gluten-free grains and starches Rice Corn/ maize Potato Soy Tapioca/cassava Arrowroot Buckwheat Sago Lentil/ pea Quinoa Millet Teff 8
Other gluten free ingredients Skim milk powder Egg whites Yeast (fresh, dry, liquid) Psyllium husk Raising agents (E575, E500) Minerals Vitamins Emulsifiers (E412, E464, E401, E440, E415) Enzymes (Transglutaminase, Glucose oxidise) Sugar syrup 9
Problems encountered in gluten-free products Significant impact on the products quality due to the absence of gluten Sensory aspects: appearance, aroma, taste, texture, shelf life Nutritional aspects: unbalanced intake of carbohydrates, protein, and fat less than the recommended amounts of B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and folate), iron, calcium, fibre and total grain servings/ Presentation Title 10
Gluten free market Seen as a specialist dietary product Some of the products are available on prescription, funded by NHS, for those medically diagnosed with coeliac disease Manufacture and supply undertaken by specialist manufacturers such as Warburtons, Juvela and Dr Schär. 11
Demand for gluten-free products There is a rapid growth and increased availability of gluten and wheat free products The total gluten free and wheat free market in 2010 in the UK accounted for 120.2 million of the total free from market In the US it was estimated that the gluten free market will reach $5.5 billion by 2015 12
Some Free From bread products available on the market 1.90/400g 3/560g 2.90/560g 2.49/300g 2.20/300g 2/320g 2.99 3.50 2/300g 13
Nutritional profile Products Fat (g/100g) Carbohydrate (g/100g) Fibre (g/100g) Protein (g/100g) Salt (g/100g) Iron (mg/100g) Warburtons - Newburn bake house Free From Seeded Warburtons - Newburn bake house Free From Brown Loaf Genius - Multi Seeded Bread Genius - Brown Sliced Bread Tesco - Free From Multi seed Slice Bread Dr. Schär - Gluten-free multigrain bread Sainsbury's Free from Soft Brown Seeded Bread Juvela - Fibre Fresh Sliced Loaf 7.2 31.3 8.3 8.2 0.8 2.9 5.0 35.6 6.2 7.7 0.8 3.1 12.1 36.9 10.4 5.7 6.9 / 2.7 16.2 2.3 1.2 0.3 / 11.8 34.8 10.7 6.7 0.7 / 3.3 41.2 6.4 4.4 0.5 / 12.5 39.8 8.0 3.4 0.91 4.2 41.5 5.0 3.9 1 4.5 14
Products Warburtons Newburn bake house Free From Seeded Genius - Multi Seeded Bread Juvela Fibre Fresh Sliced Loaf Ingredients Water, Tapioca Starch, Seed Mix (8%) (Sunflower Seed, Linseed, Millet Seed, Poppy Seed), Potato Starch, Pea Protein, Yeast, Rapeseed Oil, Egg White Powder, Stabiliser: E464, Maize Starch, Vegetable Fibre (Psyllium), Cornflour, Sugar, Calcium Carbonate, Concentrated Fruit Juice, Rice Starch, Salt, Humectant: Vegetable Glycerine, Preservative: Calcium Propionate, Natural Flavouring, Caramelised Sugar, Iron Water, Tapioca Starch, Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Rapeseed Oil, Sunflower Seeds (4%), Maize Starch, Linseeds (3%), Psyllium Husk Powder, Millet Seeds (2%), Humectant (Vegetable Glycerine), Caster Sugar, Stabiliser (Hydroxypropyl Methyl Cellulose), Dried Egg White, Yeast, Poppy Seeds (1%), Salt, Maize Flour, Rice Starch, Preservative (Calcium Propionate) Gluten-Free Wheat Starch*, Water, Yeast, Vegetable Oil (Palm, Rapeseed), Dried Skimmed Milk, Sugar, Stabilisers (Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose), Apple Fibre, Sugar Beet Fibre, Salt, Raising Agents (Glucono-delta-lactone, Sodium Bicarbonate), Colour (Plain Caramel), Emulsifiers (Mono- and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids and Mono-Diacetyltartaric Acid Esters of Mono and Diglycerides of Fatty Acids), Preservative (Sorbic Acid), Iron Powder, Niacin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Thiamine, Folic Acid 15
Products Ingredients Tesco Free From Multi seed Slice Bread water, tapioca starch, rice flour, potato starch, rapeseed oil, maize starch, psyllium husk powder, treacle, humectant (Vegetable Glycerine), stabiliser (hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose), dried egg white, yeast, salt, millet flakes, flax seeds, sugar beet fibre, caramelised sugar syrup, rice starch, preservative (calcium propionate), flavouring. Sainsbury's Free from Soft Brown Seeded Bread Dr. Schär - Glutenfree multigrain bread water, tapioca starch, rice flour, potato starch, sunflower oil, sunflower seeds, linseeds, yeast, psyllium husk powder, millet grain, humectant: glycerine, black treacle, stabiliser: hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, dried egg white, poppy seeds, maize flour, salt, maize starch, rice starch, caramelised sugar syrup, preservative: calcium carbonate water, maize starch, rice flour 8%, rice starch, soya flakes, potato starch, rice syrup, buckwheat flour 3%, thickeners: hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose and guar gum, soya bran, soya protein, nonhydrogenated vegetable fat, millet flakes 1%, yeast, sugar beet syrup, whole rice flour 1%, fructose, dextrose, apple extract, salt, acidifiers: tartaric and citric acid. LACTOSE-FREE Presentation Title 16
Products Warburtons Newburn bake house Free From Seeded Genius - Multi Seeded Bread Dr. Schär - Gluten-free multigrain bread Sainsbury's Free from Soft Brown Seeded Bread Juvela Fibre Fresh Sliced Loaf Tesco Free From Multi seed Slice Bread Allergen Information Free From: Gluten, Wheat, Dairy Contains: Eggs Free From: Gluten, Wheat, Dairy Contains Egg Cannot guarantee nut free, Free from: gluten, wheat and lactose Contains: soya bran Free From Gluten, Wheat, Dairy Contains Eggs Free-From: Gluten, Egg, Soya Contains: Milk, Gluten-Free Wheat Starch Free From: Gluten, Wheat, Dairy Contains: Eggs 17
08 December 2014 Presentation Title 18
Questionnaire Food intolerances/allergies amongst participants 18% of participants expressed a requirement for products which are both GF and WF 19
Questionnaire Range of GF products consumed Most commonly consumed: bread (87%), pasta (60%) and cereal (55%) 20
Questionnaire Factors influencing selection of GF products Respondents were asked to rank in order of importance how the following factors influence their decision to consume a product Taste Appearance Nutritional Values Availability Cost Key factors: taste, nutritional values and cost 21
Problem Questionnaire Problems encountered PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED WITH GF BREAD Slice Size 3 High Fat Content Delivery times 1 1 Poor Texture Poor Taste 6 6 Availability 1 Poor Shelflife 7 Smell Aftertaste 2 2 Dryness 14 Staling 2 Holes 4 Breaks Up 27 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Number of mentions Most commonly identified problems : bread breaking up (27), dryness (14) and poor shelf life (7) 22
Focus group Quality issues Too crumbly Too dry Holes in slices Falls apart Texture like sawdust Slice too small Chemical taste and smell Does not keep long Hard after day or two 23
Focus group wish list Longer shelf life Less crumbly Lower cost Larger slice More moist Taste like wheat bread 24
The perception of gluten-free products by noncoeliac consumers Questionnaires were completed by 50 non - Coeliac participants Sensory evaluation was carried out on a range of glutenfree and non-gluten free products: white breads, brown breads, chocolate brownies and shortbread biscuits. A number of attributes were studied : appearance, flavour, aftertaste, texture and overall acceptability 25
Questionnaire Have you ever consumed gluten free products? 56% - positive, 44% - negative Comments: Gluten- free loaf, sold in Sainsbury's. Although there was a clear difference in the sensorial properties, it wasn't too bad a taste. No... It has never crossed my mind to do so. Cookie style biscuit which was very tasty and had a good texture, but was very expensive! Yes...many! Flour very light and airy. Difficult to work with like icing sugar in texture. Doesn't brown and produces a more dense texture. Yes, gluten free cakes, I was not keen on the texture as it was quite dense and the taste was not quite the same. Gluten free pancakes Sainsbury s, quite tasty for a gluten free product. Home baking as well as purchased items such as cakes, sweet products. In my experience they are no different from, and are sometimes nicer than, products containing gluten. 08 December 2014 26
Questionnaire What would encourage you to consume a gluten free product? 22.9% - benefit the eating habit of Coeliac s 13.8% - sensory aspects similar to standard products 8.3% - included in meal deals 4.6% - more integrated shelf positioning 12.8% - dietary requirements 22.8% - dietary benefits 4.6% - publicity Presentation Title 27
Sensory evaluation 28% preferred the GF white bread 72% preferred the standard one 66% preferred GF brown seeded 34% preferred the standard one 40% preferred the GF brownie 60% preferred the standard one 34% preferred the GF shortbread 66% preferred the standard one
Summary Demand for gluten free products is increasing due to the adverse reactions to wheat including wheat allergy, coeliac disease and gluten sensitivity The only treatment is lifelong avoidance of gluten- containing products. Removal of gluten from food products presents significant challenge One of the difficulties formulating gluten-free products is that it is not possible simply substitute one ingredient with wheat flour Despite technological and market changes consumer perception of gluten-free products have not changed significantly Significant improvements are needed to produce gluten-free products to meet consumers expectations A low price, possible dietary benefits, sensory aspects similar to standard products are some of the consumers requirements 29
Thank you for your attention! Any question? Dr. Valentina Stojceska Brunel University London Valentina.Stojceska@brunel.ac.uk 30