Buying gluten-free alternatives cost a LOT MORE
Some recent articles about how much a gluten-free diet costs to maintain have caught my eye as of late. Just yesterday, UK publication The Daily Mirror posted an article titled: “Your allergy costs you £370 a year: The real expense of gluten and dairy free food revealed.” That translates to roughly $537 US dollars using today’s conversion rate.
Last month, the Internet was ablaze with stories of a study conducted by the University of Wollongong Australia originally published in the Dietitians Association of Australia’s journal Nutrition and Dietetics. The gist of the findings are that Australian families could be paying up to 17% more for a gluten-free diet and for some single gluten-free items as much as 500% more.
Headlines meant to shock and provoke action read:
- Gluten-free diet too expensive in Australia (Source: Skynews)
- New study reveals hidden costs of gluten-free diet; call made for subsidy program (Source: ABC News)
- Is gluten-free the most expensive fad yet? Average family can’t afford to follow the diet with everyday staples like bread and flour costing up to 500% more (Source: DailyMail)
Gluten-Free Diet Costs: Sample of One
Since being diagnosed with Celiac Disease in 2001, I’ve spent a pretty penny on my gluten-free diet. Some items I buy out of obvious necessity: gluten-free flours; gluten-free bread; gluten-free lipstick (yes, that’s a thing since the tiniest particle of ingested gluten makes me horribly ill). Other items I buy just to indulge myself every now and then: gluten-free pizza; gluten-free frozen waffles; gluten-free cookies (Hello! Can you say Glutino chocolate covered wafer bites? 5-oz of delectable delight, but I digress.). After all, why should I have to miss out on treats just because God dealt me a lousy hand in the GI department?
But the many articles on gluten-free diet costs got me thinking. I just recently finished compiling my 2015 gluten-free grocery receipts in April for tax purposes. (For those who aren’t aware, the government allows some write-offs for those who qualify.) So why not take a look and see just what my own economic damage was for maintaining a gluten-free diet?
Disclaimer 1: I typically am quite frugal about buying myself gluten-free goodies. I either “go without” and eat naturally gluten-free foods like salads (thankfully, I love salad); fresh meats/seafood; fruits & veggies; and potatoes, corn and rice as my carbs.
Disclaimer 2: I’m also big into baking. So I make many (probably too many) of my own gluten-free cookies, cakes, brownies, etc. from scratch. (Quick shout-out to Bob’s Red Mill’s gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour! It’s been a Godsend.) Thus, home baking helps hold down my gluten-free diet costs too.
Disclaimer 3: I’ve become a huge Aldi fan in recent years. Consequently, I was a huge liveGfree buyer in 2015 as the discount retailer added and expanded its private label gluten-free line. Buying liveGfree costs much less than other retailer private labels and name brand gluten-free products. (For more on Aldi and liveGfree, see post: Gluten Free Private Label Alternatives Encroach.)
Gluten-Free Diet Costs: My Damage in 2015
No matter how you do the math, the results aren’t pretty. Like the UK and Australian studies, my personal findings were equally as astonishing.
- Total spend for my gluten-free foods in 2015 was $428. This compares to “regular” products that would have cost me $155. That is, if I wasn’t on my “special” diet.
- What this means is, I spent 177% more, on average, for my medically required gluten-free foods than what one would pay for similar “normal” (i.e., not gluten-free) items.
- The highest premium I paid was more than 800% for sandwich (hamburger/hotdog) buns. I usually buy Schar’s 4-count hamburger buns for between $4.59-$4.99 a pack. Shoppers on “normal” (not gluten-free) diets can buy 4 buns for about 50¢ (an 8-pack costs about a buck for the private label brand, like Kroger).
- The biggest bargain (yeehaw!) is on gluten-free pasta. I started almost exclusively buying one of the many available private label brands (Kroger, Giant Eagle, Meijer, Aldi liveGfree). I pay about a 100% mark-up ($2.00 give or take) for my 16-oz. package of gluten-free spaghetti compared with $1.00 for a pound box of “regular” wheat-filled pasta.
Side-by-side placement of Betty Crocker Bisquick mixes illustrates the gluten-free price premium: 10 cents/ounce for original wheat-filled version vs. 25 cents/ounce for gluten-free variety
Key Takeaways
- Maintaining a gluten-free diet for medical reasons (e.g., Celiac Disease) costs quite a bit. Consumers, however, usually don’t place a price on good health. But we’re witnessing intensifying competition in the gluten-free product space. Bigger companies will use their scalar economies to add value and perhaps bring prices down for shoppers. If not, they may risk losing shoppers and share to those that do.
- Brand marketers must do what they can to make products more affordable for those who need them or potentially risk losing consumers – and market share – to low-priced alternatives like private brands. Educating shoppers on unique product qualities is critical. Coupons, samples and educational events/demos also go a long way in building shopper rapport and loyalty.
- Retailers should do what they can to help educate shoppers on price-friendly “naturally gluten free” options. This could include in-store signage and/or dietitian-led store tours. Consideration should be given to exploring or growing gluten-free private label products.