As awareness of Celiac disease and gluten-related sensitivities continues to grow, the gluten-free category is evolving beyond a niche segment into a structurally expanding market.
Yet, despite rising demand, the space remains complex—shaped by uneven diagnosis rates, blurred positioning within the broader ‘free-from’ category, and increasing consumer expectations around quality and convenience. In this context, Declan Lockett managing director UK & Ireland for Dr. Schär discusses how the company navigates these dynamics, from product development and market positioning to growth opportunities across retail and foodservice.
FFE: How does the demand for gluten-free products vary across different countries or markets where you operate?
Declan Lockett, managing director UK & Ireland for Dr. Schär: We see the demand as being pretty strong. It’s estimated that maybe 1% of the population have Celiac disease, but I think that might well be understated. It’s difficult to get the precise figures, but nevertheless, there seems to be a growing number of people who are expressing problems with gluten. The big issue, which I think it’s also an opportunity across all countries, is the level of diagnosis.
There are a lot of people who are not diagnosed, who may believe they have Celiac disease or something similar. I think the demand in all the different countries in which we operate is still strong. It’s also important to state that the topic of gluten-free and free-from is growing, even if there is maybe a bit of blurring of the lines, where a lot of people are talking about free-from, allergies, all in the same place. Of course, we are very clear to say that Celiac disease is not an allergy, it’s not a lifestyle topic, it’s very much a disease and therefore, we treat it very seriously. But overall, demand is strong. It differs by country, but there is still strong interest from consumers and retailers.
Is it difficult to communicate your message, considering many products are marketed as free-from or plant-based without addressing medical needs like Celiac disease?
I would say it’s challenging in the environment you described, if you go into a store in most countries, products are typically presented as ‘free from,’ which covers a very wide range of offerings. Some products are gluten-free although not directly marketed as such, for example, snack or protein bars. What we try to do is be very clear about our role, which is to focus on people with specific nutritional needs. That is very much the mission of the company, the passion of the owner, and of all employees.
Everybody is welcome, but we’re not necessarily a lifestyle brand. We’re very focused on what we do, and we think we do it very well. There is a lot of noise around the category, in different countries other topics are important — lactose-free, wheat-free, allergen-free. We try to cater to those, but we wouldn’t necessarily change what we do just to become more of a lifestyle brand.
How do you achieve “mainstream quality” in gluten-free products, to the point where consumers don’t notice the difference?
That’s the ‘nirvana’ for any gluten-free manufacturer, that the consumer doesn’t notice the difference. It starts with the product, we do a lot of work defining what the consumer requirement is, particularly for people who were diagnosed and remember what gluten-containing food tastes like. We try, as best as we can, to replicate that experience for them. As such, during development, we try to create ambient and frozen products that are as close to that experience as possible, given the limitations of some of the ingredients that we must use.
There is a misunderstanding that you take a conventional product and somehow you take the gluten away; that’s not the case, we try to create great tasting products from the ground up using specific know-how, recipes, and ingredients. We do a lot of consumer testing panels in most major markets, and we have a large consumer database. We share products with them to try to understand whether we are getting close to that experience. We also carry out regular tasting panels after production to ensure quality consistency. We try to use the best of ingredients, use grains that some competitors might not, and we don’t use preservatives. We do things in a difficult way, but that’s very much the Schär way.
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