Aldi Launches Private Label Line to Test Gluten-Free Profit Potential

Products geared toward an acknowledgment and avoidance of known food allergens are continuing to become a viable and profitable trend in food production, and gluten intolerance is at the forefront. Many brand names have either gotten behind the trend or built their reputation on it, and now private labels for retail brands are starting to get involved too. This month supermarket chain Aldi announced that it will be testing out its own private label of gluten-free products at its U.S. locations under the name LiveGfree.

According to sources, all 1,300 U.S. Aldi locations began carrying the LiveGfree line as of May 7 as an LTO trial to gauge initial consumer interest. The line will be comprehensive, carrying a broad range of products from breads and pastas to pancake mixes and baking mixes for everything from brownies and cakes to pizza crust. It’s an impressive offering, showing an understanding of the diverse wants and needs of the gluten-free consumer market. 

While the nationwide launch of LiveGfree will only be a limited run, the line will remain in several Aldi stores in key locations like Chicago, New York, and Pittsburgh for at least the end of the year. Through this, Aldi hopes to calculate whether the gluten-free market is already saturated or whether there is still enough consumer interest to warrant producing and marketing LiveGfree as an ongoing product line.

[SOURCE: http://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/news_home/Business_News/2014/05/Aldi_launches_gluten-free_prod.aspx?ID={F2601DF2-E8F5-43BF-9047-ED8EC4DA9E86}&cck=1]