$4.2B gluten-free food market only expected to keep growing

$4.2B gluten-free

food market only expected to keep growing

(Article written by Roger Riddell for Fooddive.com, original article can be found here)

Dive Summary:

• Packaged Facts reports that gluten-free food sales reached $4.2 billion last year, with the market forecast to top $6.6 billion in 2017.
• Gluten-free foods have become popular due to some consumers' belief that they can't tolerate the protein, which is found in foods processed with grains, and parents who say gluten is harmful to children with autism, though NPD Group senior analyst Harry Balzer expects interest in the category to fade eventually.
• Food giants like Mondelez International, General Mills and Kellogg's all offer gluten-free foods, and restaurants like Domino's Pizza are also beginning to cash in on the latest health interest.

From the article:
... A recent survey released by NPD Group found that 29% of U.S. adults say they want to either cut back or eliminate gluten from their diets, an increase from 24% in 2009. However, NPD senior analyst Harry Balzer tells MSN Money he expects interest in the category to fade, though he isn't sure when.
"This is the health issue of the day," he said, adding that his research doesn't delve into why people want to buy gluten-free goods. ...

READ THE FULL ARTICLE FROM MSN.COM HERE