Gluten-Free Foods a Delicious Business Opportunity

As a child, Shari Cole’s daughter Brittany was often lethargic and had stomach problems associated with having mild autism. Doctor after doctor saw the girl, now in her teens, but not one had ever suggested a change in diet. That was a decision Cole made on her own; eliminating from her daughter’s meals the protein known as gluten that is found in wheat, rye and barley. “She was a totally different kid once we put her on a gluten-free diet,” Cole said. That experience contributed to Cole to start Gluten Free & Fabulous to provide tasty food items for those who cannot consume gluten or choose not to for other health reasons. Now in its fifth year, the company is in a state of change. Cole recently brought on a chief financial officer and now looks to hire a chief operating officer for the offices in Thousand Oaks. In the works are contracts to put Gluten Free & Fabulous pizza in military commissaries and aboard U.S. Navy vessels. A few professional sports stadiums have expressed an interest in serving Cole’s food products. Amidst all that is a rebranding campaign and introduction of new packaging meant to reduce confusion with other gluten-free foods. The new name Simply Shari’s Gluten Free and Fabulous will feature Cole’s picture and the background tale of how a change in diet helped Brittany. “People want to relate to a story,” Cole said. But Brittany is only half the story to why Cole, who had been in the entertainment industry, started the company in 2005. Father and daughter The other half belongs to her father, Larry Schneider, who was diagnosed in his 60s with celiac disease, a condition aggravated by eating gluten. With little gluten-free food available on supermarket shelves, Cole decided to start making her own, and brought her father in on the company for his past business experience. (The pair has a silent partner, the son of Schneider’s business partner in the oil business.) Gluten Free & Fabulous started with three products: chocolate chip cookies, sweet and savory snacks, and macaroni and cheese. Later additions were pasta dishes and more in the dessert category. In 2009 Cole added five pizzas, which are proving to be her biggest seller. The passion for what Cole sells infuses her personality into the products, said John Barrymore, with 6 Pacific Partners, an investment and consulting firm for the food and beverage industry. “When you are eating one of her pizzas you are interacting with Shari,” Barrymore said. “That is unique attribute for a food company.” While the inspiration for a gluten-free food company came from her daughter and father rather than being market-driven, Cole got in early on what she claims is the fastest category in the food industry. Gluten-free market In early 2009, there were more than 3,000 products bearing a gluten-free label, according to the Gluten Free Opportunity and Analysis report from SPINS, a market research firm for the natural products industry. Packaged Facts, another market researcher, put the gluten-free market at $2.6 billion by 2012. Riding that wave are small entrepreneurs like Cole or Roni Piterman whose GFMeals.com in Woodland Hills offers a full line of gluten-free meals. How high sales will eventually reach remains to be seen but Barrymore is convinced that with more evidence linking health conditions to the type of food people eat more and more doctors will recommend a gluten-free diet. The existing market put Gluten Free & Fabulous into Whole Foods in California and some 1,200 stores in the Kroger chain. In August, Cole traveled to New York City to meet with representatives of Wakefern Food Corp., the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the country. The Defense Department contract also proves a big win for the small company. “For the military to get involved and recognize celiac disease and put (gluten free foods) into their commissaries is progressive of them,” Cole said. Gluten Facts: What is it: a mixture of proteins, including gliadins and glutelins, found in wheat grains How is it harmful: can lead to damage of the lining of the small intestine. Symptoms include abdominal bloating, intestinal malabsorption, severe weight loss, constipation and impaired growth Gluten Free Industry: $1.6 billion in 2008 and projects the market will reach $2.6 billion by 2012. Source: Packaged Facts