CELIACTODAY

It was just a matter of time: Europe’s biggest maker of gluten-free foods, Dr. Schär S.r.l., is coming to retail stores in North America.

Until now, only a limited number of Schär products have been available on this side of the Atlantic, and only through online stores.

Starting next month, however, a new U.S. subsidiary, Schär USA Inc., will begin selling 15 of the Italian company’s products in health food stores and supermarkets.

The company will add more products to its North American line in 2008 and beyond, said Nikos Charalampopoulos, business development manager at Schär USA, which is based in Fort Lee, N.J., just across the Hudson River from Manhattan.

Factory in the Plans

Schär is considering opening a North American factory at some point, Mr. Charalampopoulos said.

Schär’s arrival could reshape the North American market. In Europe, the company has a reputation for high-quality GF products that often approach, or even rival, their conventional counterparts in taste and texture.

Schär began making GF foods in 1982. It operates three factories in Europe, as well as a food research laboratory in Trieste, Italy.

The items that will begin showing up next month include three types of breads (“classic” white, multigrain and buns), three types of pasta (spaghetti, penne and fusilli), five types of cookies (chocolate wafers, vanilla wafers, short-bread cookies, hazelnut bars and chocolate-dipped cookies), two snack items (crackers and bread sticks), pizza crust and a white bread mix.

In Europe, GF food is viewed as a medical necessity, Mr. Charalampopoulos noted. As a result, it frequently is sold in pharmacies, and governments often reimburse at least part of the cost. As a result, packaging design tends to be conservative, and prices high.

For the highly competitive American retail market, however, Schär has made some adjustments. It has designed “more exciting” packaging, Mr. Charalampopoulos said. And it will keep its prices close to those of other GF retailers.

You Say 'Shar,' I Say 'Cher'

Schär will retain the Germanic spelling of its company name, umlaut and all, but will make a concession to North American pronunciation. It will say its name as “shar,” rather than “cher,” as it is pronounced in Europe.

(On the web, the special punctuation disappears; the company’s address is simply www.schar.com.)

Schär is one of several European companies that produce GF croissants, which no major North American manufacturer makes.

Though croissants won’t be among the first items Schär USA imports, they may arrive next year, Mr. Charalampopoulos said, adding: “We’re working to improve them.”

This story originally appeared in the (November, 2007 ) issue of CeliacToday.com. It was most recently updated in (October, 2009).