Feel the Heat

Think simply having organic, fair trade or nutritionally enhanced menu items means you're ahead of the game? Think again. There's a growing category of special needs food that means adding terms like gluten-free, low-glycemic and allergen-free to your vocabulary--and your offerings. Even Anheuser-Busch has contributed to the movement with Redbridge, a gluten-free beer. 

The Food Products Association reports that about 6 million to 7 million Americans have a food allergy, and market research firm Packaged Facts estimates that low-glycemic food sales will grow at a compound annual growth rate of more than 45 percent from 2007 to 2011, at which point sales are projected to reach a whopping $1.8 billion. "The people who are paying attention to [the organic movement] will look more deeply into what it is they're eating, and they'll probably find that they're allergic to stuff that they didn't know about," says Stephen F. Hall, a specialty food business development consultant.

The dietary needs may be different, but the sweet tooth is the same. According to Anne Muñoz-Furlong, CEO of The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, "Combinations of allergen-free foods such as milk-, egg- and wheat-free baked goods will be a natural growth area because Americans love desserts."

 Not surprisingly, food allergies represent a golden business opportunity. Here's our recipe for success:

• Remember that it's all in the positioning. Pay special attention to how you position your brand, as it is probably the most important element in the entire industry, says Hall. In other words, what differentiates your product from others? One common way of positioning is through promoting the health benefits of your product.
  
• Be ready to adapt. Because consumers' needs and diets are always changing, you'll have to be nimble if you want to succeed in this industry. Says Hall, "If you end up going down this road where you become an expert at one aspect of gluten-free products and it turns out it's not sellable, you need to refocus your efforts."
  
• Don't stop at just one product. According to Hall, you have to be prepared to "innovate like crazy." Hall recounts how trade show attendees are always keenly interested in what's new. So if you want to stick around for a while and keep your customers' attention, developing new products must become a regular task. 
  
• Make your products easily accessible. Please your customers by giving them what they want, when they want it. If you can develop ready-to-eat meals and get your products on supermarket shelves, you'll be doing your part to meet market demand. Scott Adams, 40-year-old founder of  Celiac.com, a Santa Rosa, California, company dedicated to celiac disease and gluten-free diet information, says, "The current trend in gluten-free foods is value-added, finished products like frozen pizzas and entrees."
  
• Keep an open mind. Be careful not to focus your attention only on customers with food allergies; family members and friends are also potential customers. Says Muñoz-Furlong, "Unlike other diseases, because of the life-threatening nature of food allergies, most families follow the restricted diet of their loved one."

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