Allergy Friendly Foods: US Market Trends and Opportunities

Report Overview

Allergy Friendly Foods: Market Trends and Opportunities

Food allergy prevalence is growing, and self-reported rates of food allergies, sensitivities, or intolerances encompass an even larger proportion of the population. In 2020 and 2021, the coronavirus pandemic has had a significant effect on consumer food purchases and desires for health and wellness. Packaged Facts has found that more people have discovered they may have a food allergy or intolerance/sensitivity during the pandemic, causing them to seek out allergy friendly foods in greater numbers.

What's in This Report?

With a focus on “what’s next” and current consumer trends, Allergy Friendly Foods: Market Trends and Opportunities is packed with insights about consumer trends, behavior, and motivations to help food producers, retailers, packaging companies, employers, and investors gauge consumer perspectives and find areas for growth in a competitive market.

Allergy Friendly Foods: Market Trends and Opportunities delivers actionable predictions and recommendations designed to guide producers, retailers, and investors in making business decisions by providing data and insights about what consumers think about foods and beverages, how many people believe they have a food allergy or intolerance, and how they feel about various diets and food lifestyles including gluten free and dairy free diets.

Scope

Allergy Friendly Foods: Market Trends and Opportunities is the go-to source for a complete understanding of U.S. consumer trends in the allergy friendly food and beverage market. This report combines Packaged Facts’ extensive monitoring of the food and beverage market with proprietary surveys, and evaluates current trends and future directions for marketing and retailing, along with consumer patterns during the pandemic and across the broader food and beverage market.

Allergy friendly foods emphasize that products are “free from” certain allergen ingredients and may have a third-party certification (e.g., Certified Gluten-Free). Products that are “free from” the “big 8” major allergens (i.e., eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, shellfish, soybeans, tree nuts, and wheat/gluten) are examined, as well as other food allergens such as sesame, sulfites, mustard, and corn.

Allergy friendly products are primarily important to consumers with diagnosed food allergies that cause allergic reactions such as anaphylaxis, tingling or itching in the mouth, hives, itching, eczema, or swelling. Anaphylaxis is a severe, potentially life-threatening reaction occurring within seconds or minutes of exposure to an allergen that requires medical treatment. Allergy friendly foods are also important for the much larger number of people who have food intolerances or sensitivities that cause unpleasant digestive symptoms such as bloating, gas, and diarrhea.

Additionally, some people may think they have a food allergy or intolerance while not actually having these conditions. Some consumers also avoid certain allergens such as gluten, milk, or soy because they do not like these ingredients, think these ingredients are unhealthy, or simply have a negative perception of the ingredients. As such, the allergy friendly food market appeals to a much broader audience than the name implies.

This report covers the scope of the U.S. market for food and beverage products with allergy friendly or “free from” product claims.

Additionally, Allergy Friendly Foods: Market Trends and Opportunities has dozens of tables displaying numerical survey data on consumer demographics and psychographics and numerous product and marketing photographs. This report goes in-depth on COVID-19 trends affecting the food and beverage market.

Report Methodology

The information contained in Allergy Friendly Foods: Market Trends and Opportunities was developed from primary and secondary research sources. Primary research includes interviews with food and beverage market experts; participation in and attendance at food industry events; and extensive internet canvassing.

Primary research also includes national online consumer polls of U.S. adult consumers (age 18+) conducted on an ongoing basis by Packaged Facts to analyze attitudes of consumers and their relevant food and beverage preferences.

Survey data from MRI-Simmons are used to analyze the demographics and psychographics of consumers who say they follow a special diet or eating restriction due to a food allergy, gluten intolerance, or lactose intolerance.

Supplementing Packaged Facts’ exclusive survey is analysis of the 2021 Food & Health Survey conducted by the International Food Information Council, which analyzes consumer food purchase decisions, diet and lifestyle choices, snacking activity, and perception of health benefits in foods.