Catering for coeliacs

Feedback from Coeliac UK Members has shown that there is significant demand for gluten-free food on the go but also frustration at the lack of choice and availability. We know from our research that eating out is the number one concern for people with coeliac disease – in 2012 our findings showed that this untapped market was worth an estimated £100 million.

Since launching the Coeliac UK catering accreditation and training schemes, we have seen over 2500 venues gain accreditation across the UK – these include individual restaurants, cafes and pubs as well as large national restaurant and delivery chains. These venues are offering safe gluten-free menu choices and providing people with coeliac disease and gluten intolerance with more choice than ever before.

The introduction of gluten-free pizza has been particularly popular. Accredited venues are clearly seeing the business benefit of providing gluten-free options.  The person with coeliac disease is the decision maker when choosing where to eat out with friends and family, so by catering for this market these businesses are not only benefitting from the custom of coeliac consumers but their friends and family too. We anticipate that an increasing number of venues will gain accreditation and see similar benefits.

We would now like to see more food on the go venues follow suit and cater better for the coeliac and gluten intolerant consumer. People want to be able to pick up a snack or light lunch when out and about or during their lunch break at work but are still finding that the only option is a basic salad or piece of fruit. Travelling is also a challenge; motorway services, train stations and airports are often seriously lacking in gluten-free food options.

It is great to see some venues addressing this demand - gluten-free sandwiches and wraps are now available at some major coffee shop chains and high street retailers. Costa are one example of a high street chain to introduce a gluten-free wrap as well as offering a couple of “sweet treats” to enjoy with a coffee. They have also made life easy for the consumer to trust that the products are safe to eat by using Coeliac UK’s gluten-free certification mark, the Crossed Grain symbol, on packaging. We hope that this trend will continue and grow in order to provide extended choice.

What is essential for any business launching gluten-free food on the go, is that they tell the people who are going to buy the products that they are available! There is no point in launching gluten-free options without advertising to the audience who wants them – people with coeliac disease are not going to go into a sandwich shop or look in the sandwich section of a food store and expect to find a gluten-free option unless they know that they are available.

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