By Dan Malovany

One in 100 Americans, or 3 million people, have Celiac disease, according to the Celiac Disease Center of Chicago, but 95% of them don’t know what it is, don’t know they have it or currently don’t experience many of the symptoms.

The inherited autoimmune disorder, which is the result of an intolerance to dietary gluten in wheat, barley and rye, can cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, weight loss and iron deficiencies due to the body’s inability to absorb critical nutrients.

In some cases, the symptoms can be debilitating. Then again, occasional bloating, gas and indigestion don’t necessarily apply. In fact, the best test for Celiac disease involves taking a biopsy of the small intestine along with blood tests for antibodies, and even those tests aren’t perfect. Pharmaceutical companies also are working on new ways to test for the disease.

For those with Celiac disease, avoiding bread, cookies and other baked goods and snacks with gluten is perhaps the only way to avoid suffering from the symptoms of this disease. Increased awareness of the disease, along with some opportunistic marketing by some food companies, have fueled the popularity of gluten-free products and added some legs to this niche market.

Specifically, sales of gluten-free products have experienced 20-30% annual growth during the past five years, notes Laura Kuykendall, senior marketing manager for Glutino Food Group, a Canadian company that’s been selling gluten-free products for more than two decades.

In 2008, food companies launched upward of 1,000 gluten-free products, adds Kuykendall, citing statistics from a 2009 Packaged Facts report. Overall, the market for these goods has surpassed $1.5 billion annually and is expected to reach $2.6 billion by 2012, according to the report.

Improved diagnosing techniques, she says, is just part of the reason for the surge in gluten-free products. Increased education by the Celiac Disease Foundation, the general media and food companies through their packaging and the Internet also have spread the word about Celiac disease and digestive disorders in general.

“There is a big market out there, and we’ll only see an increase in the diagnosis of the disease because there is so much awareness, whether it’s in health and medical,” Kuykendall says.

The proliferation of gluten-free products during the past five years could be attributed partly to a conference in 2004 when the National Institutes of Health began to explore the incidence of Celiac disease, says Stephanie Robbins, director of marketing for Pamela’s Products, a Ukiah, Calif.-based company that’s been producing gluten-free products, including cookies, desserts and bakery mixes, for 22 years.

Following that conference, which showed Celiac disease was much more common than reported, the NIH took the disorder off the list of rare diseases and sparked an increase in awareness and education programs, Robbins adds.

Shortly afterward, dietitians, educators, support groups and manufacturers of gluten-free products formed the American Celiac Disease Alliance.

“Additionally, during this time, many treating those with autism found that reducing or eliminating gluten from the diet made a positive difference,” Robbins says. “These two changes have created movement throughout these populations.”

Even retailers are doing a better job addressing consumer needs and the demands for these products, Kuykendall says.

“Twenty years ago, when there were very few of us producing these products, people were just making their own because there weren’t products available,” she says.

Validating the Movement
Today, that’s hardly the case. Glutino, for instance, offers a full line of products ranging from frozen baked breads to desserts and snacks. In addition to its fast-growing mix business, Pamela’s Products now sells a line of pre-made desserts, including cheesecakes, coffee cake and chocolate fudge cake. The company even offers a wedding brochure with recipes for that special day.

“We wanted to offer true decadent indulgence for those who typically cannot find such treats,” Robbins says. “With greater recognition in all grocery channels, we’ve been able to successfully bring these kinds of products to market.”

Mary’s Gone Crackers typifies the more recent entrants into this market. Currently, the Gridley, Calif.-based company sells only organic and gluten-free baked snacks, but it plans to expand its product portfolio this year, says Mary Waldner, who founded the business in 2004.

“There are lots of whole, healthful ingredient options that can create great textures, flavors and real nutrition,” she says. “It’s exciting to be on the forefront of the gluten-free market, testing new recipes and ingredient combinations.”

In addition to the hundreds of gluten-free products introduced by specialty and niche bakers and snack producers over the years, General Mills seemed to authenticate the movement by launching its gluten-free Web site last fall with great fanfare. The company sells more than 200 gluten-free products from Betty Crocker baking mixes and Chex cereal to Larabar nutrition bars, energy bars and fruit and nut bars.

For long-time smaller players such as Glutino, competition isn’t necessarily a bad thing, Kuykendall says.

“It’s one validation that there is a need and a demand for it, and we’re all about making products available to consumers and helping people who have Celiac disease feel ‘normal,’” she explains. “That’s how they want to feel. I think it’s great that there is such a variety of products available so now they have a choice.”

In January, gluten-free was listed as one of the Top 5 trends at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco. They also are sure to dominate the Natural Food Products Expo West in March, just like they have done during the past few years.

The movement also has attracted companies such as Eco-Heaven LLC, the Los Angeles-based producer of all-natural cookies and snacks, to branch out into new food categories with a gluten-free, organic, seven whole grain instant hot cereal sold under the Eco-Planet brand.

“It’s 80% oats so it will taste almost exactly like oatmeal, yet it has a better nutrition profile than oats because it’s seven whole grains,” says James Sego, president and owner of Eco-Heaven. “The biggest misconception, even among nutritionists, is that oats are not gluten-free. Oats are inherently gluten-free. However, they can and do get cross-contaminated in the fields, in transportation and in processing. If you make sure this does not happen and use dedicated gluten-free facilities, you can get oats that are gluten-free.”

Potential Marketing Tricks
Sego found that the hot cereal also has a significant following even among consumers who are not on a gluten-free diet.

“That fact has given us the impetus to change our package and make the gluten-free designations less obtrusive,” he says.

If only that would be the case with other food companies that blazon the front of their packages with “gluten-free” claims, even though the product never contained gluten in the first place.

“I never liked labeling products that are inherently naturally free of something and calling it out, and that includes gluten-free items,” Sego says. “Products that typically contain gluten and are produced using gluten-free ingredients should be labeled gluten-free. That makes it easy for the consumer to understand what is not in the product.”

But what about gluten-free carrots or corn chips? Waldner says companies need to draw a line about what is beneficial to consumers and what’s just a marketing gimmick. Unless companies are careful, marketing of gluten-free products also can be sneaky proposition.

“If companies are going to start labeling vegetables as gluten-free, that’s obviously a bit opportunistic,” Waldner says. “However, any grain-based product that is gluten-free or anywhere that could be suspect, like sausages or soups, could benefit from a label. There are many products that seemingly don’t have gluten in them like corn tortillas, for example, where some companies decide to put a little wheat flour in them. Being gluten intolerant myself, I have to read every ingredient panel now. If a company has the consciousness to be gluten-free, they should convey that to consumers.”

Robbins emphasizes that hidden forms of gluten can be found in all kinds of products, even ice cream or salad dressings, so labeling all gluten-free products is helpful to those who suffer from Celiac disease.

Moreover, just making products without gluten ingredients isn’t enough, she adds.

“A manufacturer needs to ensure that their sourcing is gluten-free, [and] their ingredient storage, manufacturing and environment are all free of gluten,” Robbins notes. “It’s an intensive process.”

While some newcomers are flagging their packages with all sorts of gluten- and wheat-free claims, Glutino is positioning its products as more mainstream, Kuykendall notes. Noticing a spike for gluten-free snacks, for instance, the company rolled out its Dream Cookies, a line of sandwich cookies that come in Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Vanilla Crème and Vanilla Crème varieties.

“People with Celiac disease want to feel like they are eating normally. When they go to a party, they want to eat all of the same great foods that others are eating,” she says.

Responding to consumer feedback, the company also is re-launching its packaging this year to look like more conventional products. Not only do consumers want gluten-free products to taste like other ones, Kuykendall says, but they also want to buy products that look like everything else in the grocery store.

“Gluten-free products are all we do,” she notes. “If it says Glutino, you know it’s gluten-free. For other brands that have products that aren’t gluten-free, it’s more necessary for consumers to read those labels to be sure they are gluten-free.”

In some ways, the gluten-free movement could be like the organic market a decade ago, says Kuykendall, who had worked in the natural and organic industries for several years prior to joining Glutino.

“Once there was so much awareness around it, they started making strides,” she says. “If you look at early organic products, they’re much better today. I’m happy to see the strides that we have made on the gluten-free side.”

There’s nothing tricky about that.

Editor’s Note: Click here to read the first installment of our report on gluten-free products, including Q&As with many of the companies featured in this article.

*Photo courtesy of Pamela’s Products