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GOURMET NEWS NOVEMBER 2017 www.gourmetnews.com NATURALLY HEALTHY 1 4 Free-From Food Continued from PAGE 1 GrandyOats Launches in the Gluten-free Space Maine-based GrandyOats jumped into the gluten-free market this year with its introduction of Coconola at Natural Products Expo East. GrandyOats makes a range of granolas and nut snacks, and Coconola is a variant of one of its classic granola recipes, said Aaron Anker, the company's Chief Granola Officer. "We used coconut chips as the base for the granola and kept it free of refined sugar. It's been a huge success," he said. "It is gluten free and it is certified organic. However, it is also grain-free. It's paleo- certified, grain free and dairy free." GrandyOats began thinking about of- fering a gluten-free product line a few years ago, but at that time, its facility did- n't allow for the creation of an isolated production area that could guarantee that there would be no cross-contamination of product. The company's move to a new solar-powered facility last year made it possible to set up segmented facilities, Anker said. "The free-from market is big enough and is going to continue to be big enough for us not to ignore it," he said. "If you make delicious foods that every- one can enjoy, then why not make it available for all diet types to eat?... Co- conola has been such a success that we plan to do line extensions on Coconola that will be gluten free and grain free, and, of course, we're always organic." For Many Food Producers, It's Personal For Feel Good Foods co-Founder and CEO Vanessa Phillips, the creation of a gluten-free product line was a personal mission. She herself practices a gluten- free diet, and she says that her Feel Good Foods, including best-selling Chicken Potstickers, meet the market's need for gluten-free foods that can be enjoyed by everyone. "With the gluten, all of the foods were created for selfish reasons," she said. "I'm gluten free, and they were the products I missed most.... We like to think of our products as intrinsically gluten free, but they're chef-inspired. A huge portion of the people who buy our products are not even noticing that it's gluten free.... Clean label is selling. We give people the foods they crave, that they grew up eating, their guilty pleas- ures, but we're giving it to them in a guilt-free product." Concerned Consumers Finding Brands They Trust Barney Butter is a brand of flavored al- mond butters that's finding its audience among consumers who are allergic to peanuts – or who have a fam- ily member who's allergic to peanuts, said Dawn Kelley, who owns and runs the com- pany along with her husband, Steve Kelley. "Food allergies are on the rise. Everybody's very anxious to find out what's causing it," she said. "There are a lot of people who choose to eat gluten free and aren't celiac. Then there are things like peanut allergies.... When you actually talk to a household that has a peanut allergy, you realize that there are all the other people – everybody has to be cognizant of that peanut allergy. Some households have a secret jar of peanut butter somewhere, but there are 11 million people dealing with a peanut allergy even if they don't have a peanut allergy themselves." Kelley noted that, in her market space, about 20 percent of the people who are dealing with peanut allergies simply make their own peanut butter substitute and another 33 percent avoid the cate- gory altogether. "Whether it's gluten free or peanut free, having some sort of al- lergy avoidance drives your purchasing," she said. She said that when she's talking with retailers about why they should put her product on their shelves, she points to that data. The average family spends $40.89 on nut butters each year. If half of American shoppers aren't buying nut but- ter at all because they have a peanut al- lergy in the family, then providing a product that they can trust and feel good about purchasing opens up a lot of poten- tial she says. "If you convert 70 percent of households that do not currently buy nut butters at retail, that equates to $290 million a year. That's just nut butter," she said. "That's big numbers. That's one rea- son why you see so many call-outs now. There are so many people looking for safe and transparent products on the shelf." Building a Brand on Trustworthiness The need for products trusted by con- sumers affected by a food allergy is also what brought 88 Acres into the market, said Nicole Ledoux, the company's co- Founder and CEO. She grew up on an 88-acre farm in central Massachusetts with a family who had a "love affair with food" and only became aware of the prob- lem of food allergies when her husband and company co-Founder almost died on the couple's fourth date from an anaphy- lactic reaction to tree nuts. "I love all food, but Rob, he has to treat it like a po- tential minefield," she said. That happened in 2010, and when Nicole started looking for foods that she could safely bring into their home, she found that there were very few brands catering specifically to the food allergy market, and the products that were mar- keted to those who couldn't eat nuts weren't products that Rob wanted to eat. "He's their target market, but he felt that these brands tended to be stigmatizing," she said. "He doesn't want to feel like he's in elementary school and sitting at the non-nut table by himself." That led her to found a line of seed- based snacks that are free of the top 11 allergens. "All of the foods we use are made with real, simple ingredients you might find in your pantry, and, first and foremost, everything has to taste amaz- ing," she said. "It is our mission to create foods that everybody can enjoy together as a family or with friends. We're manu- facturing our food with full transparency of our supply chain, so our consumers can know where their food comes from and we can provide safety for people with food allergies." She's built the brand on the trustwor- thiness of its products, which means that one of her major challenges has been building her entire supply chain to en- sure that it's uncontaminated by any of those common allergens, she said. "A lot of vetting goes in to make sure there's as little possibility for cross-contamination as possible," she said. "It's all on our web- site, but we still get phone calls from peo- ple who just want to double-check because it's so important to them. Trust is everything." Fueling the Future with "Free-from" Foods She and Simple Mills CEO and Founder Katlin Smith agree that the market for free-from foods has expanded far beyond those who have a diagnosable disease that requires the avoidance of specific foods and now includes many consumers who are experimenting with their diets to see what foods are most effective in help- ing them fuel their daily activities. "Peo- ple are using specialty diets as a cure," Ledoux said. "They're just finding that changing their diet is a really easy way to see if it makes them feel better." "I cleaned up my diet about five years ago, and I took out a lot of the processed food and a lot of the sugar," added Smith. "My joint pain went away. My seasonal aller- gies went away, and I found that I could think more clearly, which was a really bizarre thing to happen.... Food impacts so much of how we feel and what we're able to do on a daily basis, and it has broad-reaching impacts that we didn't realize." Smith is 29 years old, a Millennial, and her brand encompasses baking mixes, cookies and crackers that are gluten free, grain free, soy free, non-GMO and paleo friendly. "We make products that have re- ally simple whole food ingredients," she said. "With these products we also try to use ingredients that aren't particularly ir- ritating to people's bodies." She started her company four years ago with the idea that the gluten-free trend was more than just a fad that would fade. "This isn't just a fad," she said. "It's some- thing that's going to be around because it has fundamentally changed the way I feel on a daily basis, and as I look around, it's something that affects a lot of people." GN Hilary's Secures Growth Capital from VG Growth Partners Hilary's, which makes plant-based foods that are free from common allergens, has received a significant growth capital in- vestment led by VG Growth Partners, a new fund created with the mission to ad- vance the next generation of consumer brands. Founded by industry veterans Michael Caridi, Sanjeev Vinayak and Hitesh Hajarnavis, VG Growth Partners will serve dual roles as investment part- ners and strategic advisors to the brand. Hilary's is currently the number-1 selling veggie burger brand as measured by SPINS, and is poised for tremendous growth in the free-from category, which is projected to reach $20 billion by 2020. "We're experiencing mounting de- mand for our foods within the allergen- free community in addition to adding mainstream shoppers who want clean, healthy options that are easy to prepare," said Lydia Butler, President and Chief Fi- nancial Officer of Hilary's. "The astound- ing consumer response that has led to our current leadership in the market is a testament to the fact that people want delicious and nourishing cuisine, and we're grateful that our new investors, VG Growth Partners, share our vision for healing the American diet." The new round of funding will enable Hilary's to expand its internal sales and marketing teams, amplify expansion of its retail footprint, and accelerate inno- vation and new product development. Hilary's is the third investment for VG Growth Partners in the allergen-friendly space. With more than 50 years com- bined experience leading natural food brands, the founders of VG Growth Part- ners not only see the market opportunity in the food allergy space, but are person- ally passionate about helping to increase the accessibility of free-from foods across the country through brands families can trust. "Free-from is a booming category with tremendous potential for growth, and I know so many families – including my own – who are directly affected by food allergies," said Hitesh Hajarnavis, a founding Partner of VG Growth Part- ners. "Experiencing firsthand the daily challenges and emotional worry that I know other families affected by food al- lergies are dealing with, is part of what fuels our passion for this space. We're determined to make a difference, and it's real deal brands like Hilary's that are charting a new future by creating great tasting foods that are not only safe for those with allergies but also enjoyed by all that will make it possible for us. It's thrilling to be part of this food revolu- tion!" All Hilary's foods are free from com- mon allergens, including wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, nuts, and corn, and are vegan, certified gluten free, Non-GMO Project Verified and certified organic. Hilary's products are available at conventional and natural grocery stores nationwide, as well as online. GN

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