This week will see the launch of Sainsbury's broadened allergen-free range - Deliciously FreeFrom. This expanded range will cater for all specific allergen groups, including, nut, gluten, wheat, dairy, soya and egg.
As approximately one million UK residents suffer from a food allergy, Sainsbury's has spent over 18 months developing the new range, working closely with nutritionists and specialist suppliers.
To aid allergen-free shoppers, Sainsbury's has developed front-of-pack traffic light nutritional information and a new packaging design.
The allergen information will be highlighted and colour coded within a 'building block' design. This new system should decrease the shopping time of allergen sufferers, which currently is estimated to be 73% longer than the average shopper.
The free-from range will be available in all Sainsbury's larger supermarkets, with smaller stores also selling a much wider variety than previously. The new range will have a devoted space within stores, to allow for easier perusal.
Judith Batchelar, Director of Sainsbury’s Brand said: “Our new Deliciously FreeFrom range is a perfect example of our constant drive to improve the quality, range, value and provenance of our food where we know it matters most to our customers. We were the first supermarket to introduce own-brand allergen-free products, and nearly a quarter of all allergen-free food products sold in the UK today are sold at Sainsbury’s.
"The investment to almost double our range by introducing new products while improving existing ones demonstrates our commitment to offer great choice to all customers.”
The allergen-free food market is worth £355 million in the UK, according to Kantar Worldpanel (2014).
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Aoife Lawless. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
