2023-07-10 04:00:00
The gluten-free diet is a diet that millions of people have adopted. Some do it for medical reasons and others by choice. There are also more and more brands that offer gluten-free foods. But is it a health argument or a marketing one?
She looks like any bakery. And yet inside: its breads and pastries are distinguished by their ingredients. “Everything we make is gluten-free. For the tartlets, we use white rice flour, buckwheat and sourdough”explains Morgane, the manager.
We have a lot of people who come for a change
Brigitte goes there every week. Chocolate cake, bread, hard for her to resist: “I am not at all intolerant. But, I pay attention to my digestion and to have the most positive food balance”.
Count 7 euros 50 for 600 gr of bread, twice the price of a classic bread. While some have no choice, others are ready to pay the price, without proven intolerance.
“It’s always interesting to taste something other than classic bread and this bakery makes good gluten-free bread”launches a client.
So to seduce this clientele, Morgane manager of the bakery, offers a variety of products, from lemon tart to quiche: “We have a lot of people who come to test, to change a little. They heard for example that it made the stomach deflate or that it helped with burning”.
The trend is visible in supermarkets: a total of around a hundred products are certified, even large retailers have their own range. Since 2016, sales have doubled.
So, marketing argument or real health argument?
Here is the answer of the dietitian, Nicolas Guggenbühl: “Eating too much gluten, like eating too much of any type of food can have adverse health effects. Too much is too much. But to say that you can’t eat gluten, to three times a day with the main meals? There is no justified scientific reason”.
The total withdrawal of gluten can have negative consequences. Marie-Astrid Amand, nutrition therapist, advises her patients to read labels carefully: “There is no problem from a health point of view to have a gluten-free diet. Provided that we eat as few refined or industrial products as possible. If we start with simple products, such as flakes quinoa, rice, lentils, all these foods that are not processed, it’s very good for your health”.
1 to 2% of Belgians are gluten intolerant
It is therefore necessary not to be satisfied with the name “gluten-free”. According to economist, Pierre-Alexandre Billiet, this is a selling point for brands:
“Being a product without gluten, without additives, without sugars or others is recognized by the consumer as a guarantee of quality and this will be able to speak to him, at least in the current context, at the same selling price”.
Today, only 1 to 2% of Belgians are gluten intolerant. And the alternatives to wheat are not lacking. Corn, rice or buckwheat, restaurants are also adapting.
The positive point with “the gluten-free fashion” is that it has made it possible to increase the number of products for intolerant people. .
In total, the Belgian market for gluten-free products is worth more than 8.5 million euros.
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