Demand grows for gluten-free Purebread | Stuff.co.nz

KAY BLUNDELL

Demand for Robert Glensor's gluten-free bakery products has been growing as fast as his organic loaves have been rising.

Mr Glensor started as a one-man band 15 years ago when he launched Paraoa Bakehouse Purebreads from premises in Kapiti Rd, Paraparaumu.

Today he employs 16 staff and the demand for his gluten-free products, including breads, pizza bases, breadcrumbs, muesli, cakes and biscuits, has been growing steadily despite shoppers trimming their food budgets and struggling to justify paying extra for organic products.

"It was a lot easier to convince shoppers to buy organic products a few years ago. It's an easy thing to get knocked off the shopping list, especially when they [shoppers] are told other options are healthy," Mr Glensor said.

Launching his first gluten-free loaf, Corn and Seed, about four years ago, his latest gluten-free loaf, Young Bucks, was now his best seller.

The gluten-free market had become more competitive during the past couple of years as other companies launched gluten-free, low-allergy products.

"It is more challenging now but gluten-free is definitely our growth area. More and more people are getting into it, but we still have points of difference," he said.

The company's "fresh to store" policy meant it did not use gas-flush packaging used by many other breadmakers, and its method of bulk fermentation and sourdough breads meant they were a lot more digestible, he said. "Light, fluffy, white loaves are produced in about an hour and half while our three to five- hour fermentation process makes our breads much more digestible."

Using organic pasture-fed eggs in his products, he said his popular gluten-free loaves were more full-bodied in texture compared with others on the market.

Last year, Purebread was recognised as New Zealand's top organic business when it was awarded Organic Enterprise of the Year by Organic Aotearoa New Zealand.

Purebread supplies supermarkets and health-food stores from Kaitaia to Dunedin - about 50 per cent of its product is distributed within the Wellington region.

With a turnover of $1 million a year, the company distributes about 10,000 units a week.

Achieving Bio-Grow certification early in the life of the business, he used high-quality organic flour from Australia, which needed long periods for ripening.

Although organic flour was about two and half times the price of non-organic, he tried to keep his prices down, he said.

Looking to the future, he was hopeful organics would keep growing in popularity as people realised how important it was for their health.

"It is about what is NOT in our bread rather than what IS in it, in terms of pesticides and preservatives that are potentially very bad for people.

"If people are really serious about investing in our people and our children, the old cliche 'we are what we eat' should be taken very seriously," he said.

- BusinessDay

Source: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/small-business/5683802/Demand-grows-for-gluten-free-Purebread

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