What was once considered a niche dietary restriction is now ubiquitous across foodservice and retail. Datassential, a food and beverage intelligence platform, found 55% of consumers have tried gluten-free foods and 30% of consumers currently follow or have followed a gluten-free diet.

“Innovations have improved the taste, texture and performance of gluten-free options to the point that choosing gluten-free is no longer a compromise,” said Cathy Wisloski, manager insights and customer experience, Dawn Foods.

The observation is evident in the gluten-free bakery category, which grew 10% in 2023, according to Nielsen Byzzer looking at dollar sales of gluten-free bakery goods, Total U.S. Grocery 2023. In the perimeter bakery, sales are lower, but products purchased have high growth and retain loyal shoppers. With dollar sales of gluten-free baked goods anticipated to grow more than 10% year over year in the next three years, gluten-free holds the potential to transform the bakery, according to Databridge Market Research.

“Gluten free has advanced to the point where it’s no longer acceptable to simply provide a gluten-free product,” said Melissa Trimmer, corporate executive chef, director of culinary and innovation studio, Dawn Foods. “It must be as tasty as its gluten-filled counterpart.”

Instore bakeries looking to explore offerings of gluten-free products without the complexity of formulation often turn to ready-made mixes that can be customized at the bowl with added flavorings, inclusions and toppings. Dawn offers gluten-free bakery mixes that cover a range of needs including white and Devil’s food high-ratio cake mixes, vanilla crème cake base, fudgy brownie base and vanilla cake donut bases.

King Arthur Commercial, Boston, offers a number of gluten-free formulas for artisan bread, banana bread, biscuits, bread, brownies, chocolate cake, cookies, fudgy brownies, donuts, muffins, pancakes, pizza crust, popovers, pumpkin bread, scones and yellow cake.

This article is an excerpt from the March 2024 issue of Supermarket Perimeter. You can read the entire Gluten-free feature and more in the digital edition here.