An Edinburgh-based bakery has found a recipe for success in the rapidly expanding gluten-free market and is even selling croissants and brioche to the French, discovers Dominic Ryan

WHEN a company manufacturing in Scotland can sell traditional French products such as croissants, brioche and pain au chocolat to the French, you know it has taken international trade to a new level.

But when you also consider these products are entirely gluten-free you begin to realise, too, the very level of innovation involved.

It gets even better. Six months after the launch of its French range, Genius Gluten Free won an award at the Trophees LSA 2014 de l'Innovation in the Health & Nutrition (Nutrition-sante) category and was commended, among its many plaudits, for introducing a better tasting product than those already available in the market.

It's an achievement that Chief Executive, Roz Cuschieri, is rightly proud of. "We are an outward-looking business," she says. "The UK will always be our core market, it's incredibly important to the business and it remains in double-digit growth.

"However, we've done a lot of research into continental Europe and the Europeans are great bakery lovers. The gluten-free products available in France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands are akin to where the UK was six to eight years ago.

"So we believe - and this is evidenced by our performance in places such as France and the Netherlands - there is a tremendous market opportunity for fresh, great-tasting, gluten-free products."

The back-story for the unprecedented success of the Genius brand as an international player in gluten-free products began just six years ago with the company founder Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne.

A chef by trade, she has three sons and two of them have very serious food intolerances and allergies: one to gluten and one to dairy.

Having scoured the marketplace in vain to find anything that would be suitable for them, she set about creating something that at that time simply didn't exist - great tasting, gluten-free, soft bread.

"That was six years ago," notes Cuschieri, "and it's really interesting to see what she started - in essence, she created a new category, one that has shown spectacular growth."

Cuschieri takes up the story of the company's birth. "Some things are meant to be," she says. "She met our now chairman Bill Gammell at the school gates. Bill is a diagnosed coeliac and was looking for exactly the kind of products Lucinda had created in her own kitchen.

"So with his business experience, network and investment capability, Genius was born. Bill is now our chairman and Lucinda is our founder and both are very actively engaged in the business."

Cuschieri joined the team five years ago and says the factors that attracted her to sign up were many.

"I really enjoy the bakery industry. I was really keen to get involved with a small, high-growth, start-up business that was writing its own agenda and really doing something transformational for its consumers, because when you can't eat gluten life can be quite difficult.

"Providing new fantastic food that makes consumers' lives so much easier is very exciting, very difficult, but something I was very keen to be part of."

Genius has now managed to attract a whole host of people into its fast-growing business of like-minded people, who really want to make a great product, great food that makes a massive difference to consumers' lives and be part of a great growth story for Scotland - and England, where we also have a bakery."

Noting that, naturally, shareholders are looking for a return on their investment, Cuschieri is also keen to point out that Genius is in the business of creating something new and unique. In 2013 it bought two new bakeries that now manufacture its range of goods.

"I think that was game-changing for the business," says Cuschieri, "because it allowed us to take full control of innovation, our routes to market, and quality. So we've invested very heavily in the bakeries and in our teams and our people and we continue to invest very heavily in the brand. So what we make is reinvested into supporting the Genius brand and communicating very directly with consumers."

She adds: "The past two years have been really exciting, in particular the past nine months, because we've looked to develop the brand and bakery range in Europe, particularly France and the Netherlands.

"So the success we saw in the UK we're now seeing in other parts of the world."

Where Genius sits here in the UK is as the biggest brand in gluten-free products, with nearly 27 per cent of value share. "We're growing that value," says Cuschieri. "In fact, we are growing more than twice as fast as the category (24 per cent) at 53 per cent."

The innovation that has led to this Cuschieri differentiates into three categories. "First there is process innovation, ensuring that the right equipment is in the bakery to produce what is a very fragile dough - so we need the appropriate kit.

"Second, when you're replacing wheat you have a number of ingredients that are relatively new and the understanding around how these work in the mix is still relatively embryonic.

"So there is much learning still to happen, lots of research - the innovation around this ingredient knowledge is critical. Then there is a kind of traditional innovation in terms of bringing new products to the market.

"When Lucinda first started she launched a couple of breads - the most difficult thing to do - and since then the Genius brand has innovated at pace.

"Last year we launched 15 new products, from lemon and chocolate cupcakes to puff and short crust pastries to pies - it had been really difficult to get a good tasting, gluten-free pie in a country that loves its pies!"

And that, for gluten-intolerant people, will provide more than just food for thought. n

To explore the infinite possibilities of doing business inside and outside of the UK visit:

www.scottish-enterprise.com/infinite

 

 

RESEARCH, RESPECT AND RELATIONSHIPS

WE asked Genius Gluten Free CEO Roz Cuschieri how she would encourage and inspire more business leaders in Scotland to emulate the success of Genius Gluten Free:

"First I'd say, we haven't always got it all right - but the important thing is we've learned a lot as we've trodden the path.

"I adhere to a "Three Rs" approach: research, respect and relationships.

"Whether it's a new product, consumer group or market, take the time to research.

In terms of international expansion, really respect local culture and remember that every market is different; consumers behave differently in different countries and so be respectful of that.

"Just because your product does spectacularly well in the UK, you cannot assume it will do so in any other market.

"The third R is relationships. Don't assume you know everything, particularly when it comes to new markets.

"Forming alliances or links with partners is absolutely critical because they will know the consumers, tastes, routes to market and the pitfalls to look out for in a more intimate way than you necessarily would."

 

 

GRAIN OF TRUTH: GLUTEN EXPLAINED

THE gluten protein exists naturally in cereals such as wheat, barley and rye.

Mixed with water it becomes sticky and elastic, which means it acts as the perfect binding agent for many food products. In cakes and breads it also traps air bubbles to help create their light and airy consistency.

For someone who is gluten-sensitive, their allergy means that eating bakery products can lead to digestive problems, skin

irritations and lethargy

Someone who is gluten intolerant, however, has a condition known as coeliac disease.

It is estimated to affect around one in 100 people, causing an immune reaction to the lining of the small intestine. This can result in a range of symptoms, including tiredness, headaches, anaemia, hair loss, bloating, diarrhoea, nausea and, in some cases, sudden weight loss.

Only foods that contain less than 20 parts per million (ppm), sometimes expressed as 200mg gluten/kg, can be labelled gluten-free.

UK law means that all foods must say if they contain any allergens.

Genius Gluten Free CEO Roz Cuschieri identifies two groups who opt to go without gluten.

The "have-tos" are the coeliacs who have to eat gluten-free because of their severe intolerance.

And then there are the "like-tos", who are the people who remove gluten altogether from their diet or go gluten-light as a lifestyle choice, believing that this offers health benefits, such as improved energy levels and better digestion.