Gallery: Expo East Goes Grain-Free
As gluten-free becomes mainstream, a new sector of products has emerged: grain-free.
Categories such as gluten-free, paleo, ketogenic, low-FODMAP and free-from have been born out of changing consumer lifestyles and the result has been a wave of innovation to create products to meet new needs.
CPG companies are turning to ingredients ranging from vegetables — like cauliflower — to starches — like cassava and tapioca — to create grain-free alternatives to consumer favorites like pizza, chips, crackers, cookies and more. In the flour space alone, cassava flour sales grew 471.5 percent, according to SPINS data. Bean and lentil flour sales also saw rapid growth with a 9.8 percent increase over last year.
Producers exhibiting at last week’s Natural Products Expo East seemed to recognize the opportunity in grain-free as many brands unveiled new innovations and flavors that play in this space. Here are some of the new grain-free products the NOSH team spotted from the show floor.