Gluten-free diets have become more popular globally, though gluten-free options remain limited in many Asia Pacific markets. Australia and New Zealand stand out as exceptions where gluten-free has become a mainstream lifestyle choice, with gluten-free bakery product launches growing 19% from 2012-2017. While these countries have some of the strictest gluten-free labeling laws, manufacturers are still experiencing considerable success. Bakers have improved gluten-free products to be almost as good tasting as gluten-containing options, but consumers now want additional health benefits like fiber and protein. A consumer survey found people perceive nutrition claims as a sign of higher quality and are still seeking better quality and wider availability of gluten-free bakery products.

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Far more people in the world follow a gluten-free diet
than those who actually need to. While consumers with
gluten intolerance or celiac disease need to avoid it,
it’s becoming more mainstream across the globe to go
gluten-free. However, if you scan the bakery shelves in
many Asia Pacific stores, you’ll have a hard time finding
that gluten-free lifestyle trend. Here, indulgence and
natural fortification still rule—and the sensory short-
comings often associated with gluten-free bread, for
example, keep sales to a minimum.
As with all rules, though, there are exceptions.
In this case, it’s Australia and New Zealand, which
stand out in the Asia Pacific region as markets where
gluten-free has become a popular lifestyle choice.
The overview of bakery product launches from Innova
Database puts gluten-free among the top three
packaging claims in these countries. From 2012 to
2017, gluten-free bakery launches in Australia and New
Zealand grew 19 percent overall.
SUCCESS UNDER TOUGH CONDITIONS
What’s interesting about this growth is that
Australia and New Zealand have some of the toughest
labelling laws in the world. Oats and malted gluten-
containing cereals are not permitted, and ingredients
derived from gluten-containing grains must be
declared on product labels, no matter how small the
amount used. Still, gluten-free manufacturers are
experiencing considerable success despite having to
meet these stringent requirements.
As in other gluten-free growth markets, the bakery
category is driving the trend. One of the reasons why
the segment has moved from niche to mainstream in
recent years has got to be the vast improvement in
quality. Bakers have proven that gluten-free bread,
cakes and cookies can be almost as good and tasty as
standard gluten-containing ones.
A NEW SET OF GOALS
Now that bakers have reached that milestone,
new goals have appeared on the horizon—borne by
consumer expectations for gluten-free products that
offer additional health benefits.
The movement towards healthier gluten-free bakery
was one of the key findings of a recent consumer survey
commissioned by the specialty ingredients business,
WILLGLUTEN-FREEEVER
TURNMAINSTREAMINASIAPACIFIC?
DuPont Nutrition & Health. Although the focus was four
European markets—France, Italy, Spain and the UK—
they share many Western attributes with Australia and
New Zealand. That makes the findings of interest, both
to the already established gluten-free markets of Asia
Pacific and to other regional markets where bakers may
see future opportunities to differentiate their range
with gluten-free options.
Like Australasia, the average incidence of celiac
disease in Western European countries is around 1
percent. Yet, according to Mintel market research,
the percentage of consumers who buy gluten-free
products is considerably higher—11 percent in Italy and
UK and 8 percent in France and Spain. Findings from
the DuPont consumer survey point to healthy living as
a main driver of gluten-free sales in these markets.
The survey also showed something else: that
consumers are still hunting for even better quality and
wider availability of gluten-free bakery products.
THE SEARCH FOR BETTER QUALITY
But, before going more deeply into that, let’s start by
taking a brief look at the history of gluten-free baking.
In fact, you don’t have to go many years back to find
the time when gluten-free bread was a product that
many gluten-intolerant consumers would probably
prefer to avoid. Gluten-containing wheat flour is often
replaced by combinations of maize, rice, tapioca and
potato starch. In the early years of gluten-free baking,
bread was typically dense and crumbly and rapidly
turned dry.
These texture defects can be partially offset
by the addition of sugar and fat—at the expense
of nutrition. As time has gone by, many industrial
bakers have taken another route, compensating for
gluten through the addition of hydrocolloid blends
containing cellulose gum, xanthan, guar, locust bean
gum, pectin and psyllium.
In this way, many bakers today produce gluten-free
breads with a relatively high volume, better softness
and a reduced tendency to dryness right after baking.
That’s a good starting point for taking the next step
and meeting consumer demand for extra nutritional
benefits. As the results from the DuPont survey confirm,
many consumers perceive a nutrition claim on gluten-
free labels as a sign of higher product quality. And they
are usually right.
MORE APPEAL AND NUTRITION IN ONE
When improving the nutritional profile of gluten-
free bread, there are two main ways to go. Bakers can
add fibre or protein—or a combination of the two.
Whatever they choose, they will often find that the
addition of fibre and protein both makes their products
healthier and optimises the softness, structure and
look of the final baked bread.
Fibre has long been a popular nutrition claim on
bakery products, and gluten-free bakery is no different.
Mintel reports that 25 percent of European gluten-free
breads were labelled with an added fibre or high fibre
claim from 2014 to 2016. In the UK alone, 44 percent of
gluten-free consumers expect the products they buy to
have a high fibre content.
Each of the hydrocolloids used in gluten-free bakery
blends is a fibre source in its own right. Following
a review of scientific literature, the US Food & Drug
Administration has declared that all of them satisfy its
definition of dietary fibre and may be declared as such
on food product labels.
At DuPont, application trials have also explored
the use of polydextrose for fibre enrichment of gluten-
free baking. Comprising 80 percent soluble fibre,
polydextrose is already used for the production of
white bread with a high fibre claim, thus appealing to
consumers who dislike the taste and feel of whole grain.
In gluten-free bread or cake recipes, the water-
binding capability of polydextrose contributes to the
softness and moistness of the final product. In low-
moisture products such as gluten-free biscuits, on
the other hand, polydextrose acts as a crisping agent,
thanks to its high glass transition temperature.
GLUTEN-FREE BAKERY IS STILL A NICHE MARKET IN MOST ASIA PACIFIC
MARKETS—WITH THE NOTICEABLE EXCEPTION OF AUSTRALIA AND NEW
ZEALAND. BUT, AS GLUTEN-FREE BAKERY PRODUCTS CONTINUALLY GET
BETTER, WHO KNOWS WHAT THE FUTURE WILL HOLD? BY RACHEL PARK,
MARKETING MANAGER, KOREA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND.
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A GOOD PROTEIN OPTION
When it comes to protein addition, some large
bakery companies use soy protein to delay staling and
improve the colour of their gluten-containing white
bread. This functionality plus the excellent nutritional
quality of soy make it a good option for protein
enrichment of gluten-free bread, too.
The only drawback is that soy protein is an allergen
that some consumers need to avoid. So, depending on
the target market, there may be a case for using an
alternative protein source that offers similar technical
and nutritional benefits.
GLUTEN-FREE GAPS TO FILL
Findings from the DuPont survey suggest there are
still gaps for industrial bakers to fill, even in Europe’s
biggest gluten-free markets—and that better nutrition
is just one of them.
For the survey, DuPont interviewed groups of men
and women between the age of 20 and 45 about their
gluten-free shopping and consumption habits. They
were also asked to evaluate some of the gluten-free
bakery products currently on sale in European stores:
white and brown bread, a wrap, cake and biscuit.
The conclusion? That consumers would buy even
more gluten-free bakery products if there were a
wider range to choose from. In other words, they want
more of everything—more quality, more nutrition,
more flavours and more portion sizes. Some also
look for products with a shorter ingredient list, thus
supporting a forecast from Innova Market Insights that
clean label will be a major driver of future new product
development within the gluten-free segment.
THE ROAD TO INDULGENCE
For ambitious gluten-free bakers, it seems there
are still many avenues to explore for new product
development. The suggestion is that, if bakers can
meet consumer needs by bringing more innovative
products to market, they will continue to ride the
gluten-free growth trend in Western and Western-style
markets, including Australia and New Zealand.
As for the rest of Asia Pacific, there is no sign of
an emerging gluten-free movement at the moment.
But, who knows? As the quality continues to improve
and more nutritional claims are added to product
labels, perhaps there is a chance of a gluten-free
breakthrough sometime in the future. That will be
the day when gluten-free bakery products finally rank
among the indulgent.
THE CONCLUSION? THAT CONSUMERS WOULD BUY EVEN MORE GLUTEN-FREE
BAKERY PRODUCTS IF THERE WERE A WIDER RANGE TO CHOOSE FROM. IN OTHER
WORDS, THEY WANT MORE OF EVERYTHING—MORE QUALITY, MORE NUTRITION,
MORE FLAVOURS AND MORE PORTION SIZES.