...Here’s the big disconnect that captures the essence of the problem: less than 1 percent of the population has celiac disease, approximately 6 percent are gluten intolerant, and … drum roll please … almost 30 percent of American adults are trying to avoid gluten. One of the main reasons consumers avoid gluten is they feel it’s healthier. It’s generally not.
The blunt reality is that many gluten-free foods are not healthier for the 93 percent of the population that doesn’t have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. Consider that a Glutino Original New York Style Bagel has 26 percent more calories, 250 percent more fat, 43 percent more sodium, 50 percent less fiber and double the sugar of a Thomas’ Plain Bagel. Further, because many gluten-free products utilize rice flour, they are also at risk of containing higher levels of arsenic than desirable or healthy.
And then there’s the cost. The Glutino bagel I just described costs 74 percent more than the Thomas’ bagel. Nabisco’s Gluten-Free Rice Thins cost 84 percent more per cracker than Nabisco’s Multigrain Wheat Thins. And when it gets to baking products, the costs are even higher. Betty Crocker’s gluten-free brownie mix is more than 3 times the cost per serving of Duncan Hines regular mix.
While economic logic might lead you to conclude that higher prices would lead to lower demand, you’d be wrong. In a classic indicator of bubble dynamics, higher prices have been met with higher demand.
