From The January/February 2003 Issue of Natural Grocery Buyer

Dietary Decisions

Helping customers meet special nutrition requirements

Connie Guglielmo

Take a stroll down the aisle of any grocery store today and it's not hard to find products labeled "cholesterol free," "low cholesterol," "fat free," "low fat," "low sodium" or "sugar free."

Why all the taglines? With 102.3 million American adults suffering from high cholesterol, 17 million people in the United States with diabetes, and another 6 million or 7 million people with food allergies or food intolerances, manufacturers have figured out that it makes good sense to label their products to appeal to consumers with special dietary needs. Add to that the estimated 35 million Americans following low-carbohydrate diets and you've got the makings of a seriously lucrative market niche.

Sales of "lesser-evil" foods—products from which unwanted substances, such as fat, calories, carbs, preservatives or salt, have been removed—reached about $53.2 billion in 2001 and are expected to grow at least 5 percent annually through 2005, according to Nutrition Business Journal. About 85 percent of sales in the category come from products used primarily for weight loss.

It's a trend that has not escaped the notice of natural and organic food promoters, some of whom are hoping to help retailers by labeling products with seals intended to draw the attention of even more consumers with unique dietary concerns. But some observers say retailers could do a better job gatekeeping and educating their customers to help them sort through the broadening array of special-diet products.

Even simple grains are being tested, certified and labeled to appeal to the special-diet market. For example, by the end of the year, Great Falls, Mont., based Kamut Association of North America hopes to put a "low-glycemic" seal on eight Kamut products sold in the United States and Canada. Kamut is a grain in the wheat family that the International Food Allergy Association says can be tolerated by 70 percent of people who are sensitive or allergic to other forms of wheat. A low glycemic rating means that the sugar in the food dissolves slowly into the bloodstream so that there is no spike in blood sugar. And the new seal is intended to appeal to consumers—diabetics and athletes, for example—who want to maintain a steady level of sugar in the blood, says KANA spokeswoman Debby Quinn Blyth.

Because glycemic testing can be costly, many food manufacturers don't put the rating on their labels, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Glycemic Research Institute. But for KANA, the seals are a marketing opportunity too good to pass up.

"We can say it's a high-energy food that's higher in protein, minerals and vitamins than modern wheat," Blyth says. "Getting products tested and putting a seal on them showing their low-glycemic rating just helps us attract even more people who care about what they eat."

But organic and natural foods producers—and grocers—still have a lot of work to do on behalf of people with food allergies.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health estimates that one out of three people say they have a food allergy or that they modify the family diet because a family member is suspected of having a food allergy. This means there's a large segment of customers looking for gluten-free products (for those who are sensitive to wheat, barley, oats and rye); dairy-free products (for those who are lactose intolerant); and even egg-free products (for those who have adopted a vegan diet or have an intolerance to eggs).

"There are lots of people with special diets and needs, but [manufacturers and retailers] are leaving it up to the consumer to figure things out," says Greg Madsen, founder of TravelOrganic.com. "Even if the organics are well identified and labeled in the store, there's really nothing to help specific allergic audiences—yet."

Connie Guglielmo is a writer, editor and novelist in Los Altos, Calif. She may be reached at acmewriter@aol.com.