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Gluten-and allergen-free food demand offers opportunities for processors
Story Date: 3/27/2013
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Source: Rita Jane Gabbett, MEATINGPLACE, 3/27/13
As of this January, about 30 percent of U.S. adults say they want to cut down or be free of gluten in their
diets, the highest percentage making this claim since research firm The NPD Group began asking the question in 2009.
The incidence of consumers ordering food described on the menu as gluten-free or wheat-free is double what
it was four years ago – accounting for over 200 million restaurant visits in the past year. Similarly, the number of consumers looking to avoid other major allergens — milk, egg, soy, peanut, tree nut and seafood — is also on the rise.
“Over 100 million Americans, or approximately one-third of the U.S. population, require some type of gluten
or allergy free diet,” according to Kim Koeller, founder of AllergyFree Passport and GlutenFree Passport and author of "Let’s Eat Out with Celiac/Coeliac and Food Allergies.” Because of this, “free-from” food markets have seen double-digit growth rates in recent years, representing significant opportunities for manufacturers and the hospitality industry.
Koeller will discuss this topic as a keynote speaker at this year’s Protein Innovation Summit, April 15-16 at the Trump Hotel, Chicago. She will share proprietary research data on the business opportunities for processors and restaurant operators in this growing consumer niche. Her presentation will also include:
Data on worldwide market drivers for special diets
A look at the exploding demand for gluten free and allergy friendly products
Ingredient and food preparation considerations and
How to cater to special diet customers.
“There is a learning curve associated with special dietary requirements for manufacturers, restaurants,
hotels and even consumers which includes 3 key steps: awareness, education and knowledge,” says Koeller.
A panel of experts including processors, chefs and catering experts will also address the topic. Panelists
include:
Lance Youngs, executive chef and director of research and development at John
Soules Foods, which has created a line of allergen and gluten-free
products for foodservice operators
Carlyn Berghoff, CEO, Berghoff Catering & Restaurant Group and the author of
“Cooking for your gluten-free teen.”
Kellie Young, president of AllergyFree Foods, a processor of allergen-free foods
for retail and foodservice
Patrick McLaughlin, executive chef at Parker's Ocean Grill, which prepares its own
allergen-free offerings.
Attendees will also have the chance to taste various protein preparations and sauces formulated with and
without common allergens.
Also at the conference
The Protein Innovation Summit agenda also includes a number of other presentations, case studies and
discussions. Highlights include:
Case-study presentations by Cardinal Meat Specialists and the David Burke Group on managing commodity meat costs in the plant and on the menu;
A panel discussion on the impact of food costs on purchasing and
distribution practices across the supply chain;
An analysis by Meatingplace Executive Editor Rita Jane Gabbett of how media and social media coverage of the
so-called “pink slime” story spun out of control;
An interactive exercise in which the entire audience participate in a simulated public relations crisis, with professional critique and counsel by experts from Wagstaff Worldwide, Winston & Strawn, and Reuters USA;
Case
studies from Yale and the University of Michigan, chronicling how cost,
nutritional concerns and student demand has impacted the menuing of meat
and poultry on campus;
A straightforward, no-holds-barred discussion with college students to
discuss what they’re eating…and why.
The Protein Innovation Summit, April 15-16 at the Trump Hotel, Chicago, is co-presented by Meatingplace,
HOTELS and Plate magazines.
For more stories, go to http://www.meatingplace.com/.
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