CELIACTODAY

When Louise’s seven-year-old daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease a few years ago, among the first things to go were breaded “finger foods.” Now, two of the girl’s favorite items—chicken nuggets and fish sticks—are back, thanks to gluten-free offerings by Ian’s Natural Foods Inc.

“They have been such a great addition to her menu,” says Louise, who lives in Ontario, Canada, and who made the comments recently in the Delphi Celiac Disease On-Line Support Group. “I've made them for her friends as well, and they like them, too, even though they have no food restrictions.”

Unique Identity

At a time when companies are piling into the gluten-free marketplace, Ian’s has carved a unique identity by following a “kid-friendly” strategy. The brand’s image, in fact, reflects the kind of playfulness that makers of mainstream foods typically use to promote cereals, cookies and other gluten-containing foods that kids with celiac can’t touch.

The approach starts with the products themselves. Besides finger foods, Ian’s GF line include such child-oriented foods as alphabet-shaped fries, French toast sticks and cookies.

Moreover, Ian’s designed its packaging specifically to catch the eye of children as they shopped with parents, says Jeff Canner, vice president of marketing of the Lawrence, Mass., company.

The name of each product appears in balloon letters on a bright yellow box. A cartoon mascot, Andy the Otter, is tucked in one corner.

Bright Ideas

Kids even provide product ideas. Members of Ian’s 6,000-strong, online Superfit Kids club routinely send in suggestions, Mr. Canner says.

Whatever the source, a new-product idea soon is in the hands of Development Chef Bruce Franklin, who has been a busy man lately. This year alone, the company introduced six new GF items, nearly doubling its gluten-free line.

The new offerings include chicken patties, lightly battered fish, French toast sticks, two kinds of cookies, and French bread pizza. The latter item rolls out nationwide this month.

Ian’s got into the GF food business almost by accident. The company created the brand in 2001 to be a “better-for-you” line of conventional frozen foods for kids.

Typically, Mr. Canner says, the company’s products contain only half the fat and sodium found in market-leading brands, yet at least as much protein.

Millions Missing

Soon after the Ian’s line was launched, however, Mr. Canner says, “we found there were millions of kids” who couldn’t eat Ian’s foods because of food allergies and sensitivities. The main offenders were wheat, gluten, milk, casein, eggs, nuts and soy.

So, the company set out to make allergen-free versions of its two best-selling items: chicken nuggets and fish sticks. The allergen-free offerings sold so well that Ian’s expanded the line.

(The company’s non-GF line still accounts for the biggest part of its sales. That line includes items, such as “mini cheeseburgers,” that celiacs cannot eat. The allergen-free items are clearly marked.)

The effort to make a single product to address a broad range of food sensitivities, however, requires recipes that don’t appeal to all palates.

Everybody's a Critic...

In a recent discussion of Ian’s products on Delphi’s celiac support forum, several people offered critiques.

One writer thought the fish sticks were “gooey and rubbery.” Another found the turkey corn dogs to be “crumbly, dry and quite tasteless.”

Other writers, though, were enthusiastic. “Both my children (celiac and non-celiac) will eat the French toast sticks everyday if I let them,” wrote Tammi from Cheltenham, Pa.

Theresa from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, wrote, “You don't have to be a kid to love Ian's. I love the fish sticks and the chicken nuggets. My non-celiac grandkids also love them.”

That might be because the products have to pass a key hurdle before launch. Once Chef Franklin and the Ian’s staff sign off on a recipe, they turn it over to kids and their parents for a taste test.

Be Honest, Now

“We have to tell them to be honest,” Mr. Canner says. “Sometimes, the little ones are afraid they’re going to hurt our feelings.”

Ian’s produces most of its products, both conventional and allergen-free, at a single plant in the seaside city of Revere, Mass.

Several of the conventional products are breaded with wheat crumbs and other potential allergens. To avoid cross-contamination, the company shuts the plant at the end of the week, removes all allergens from the building, and sanitizes the equipment.

When the plant reopens on Monday, it runs the allergen-free items in a clean environment.

During the run, the company tests for the presence of contaminants. It then sends samples of the finished products to an independent testing laboratory. The items are shipped only after the results come back verifying their allergen-free status.

(The company tests for gluten at a level of 10 parts per million. That’s twice as strict at the standard the U.S. Food & Drug Administration is considering.)

Turkey Items Recalled

Despite the precautions, Ian’s has had one product recall, though not for gluten. This past August, the company recalled about 13,000 pounds of frozen turkey products because of the suspected presence of non-fat milk, an allergen, which wasn’t noted on the label.

To avoid any repeat, Mr. Canner says, Ian’s added “critical control points” to the inspection process.

Mr. Canner says the company is far from running out of ideas for GF items. (He declines to name any of them, though, out of fear that a competitor will try to introduce the item first.)

“There are a lot more people out there who have celiac disease and don’t know it than there are people who have been diagnosed,” Mr. Canner says. “As they find out, the demand for gluten-free foods will only increase.”

This story originally appeared in the (November, 2007 ) issue of CeliacToday.com. It was most recently updated in (July, 2008).