Ireland’s first in-store gluten-free bakery to meet rising customer demand

Ireland’s first gluten-free in-store bakery will open this summer in Scally’s SuperValu in Clonakilty, Co Cork, creating five new jobs.

The supermarket has invested €500,000 in a state-of-the-art kitchen and bakery unit that will produce gluten-free products freshly in store.

The owner of Scally’s SuperValu Clonakilty, Eugene Scally, said they were responding to the demands of customers in rolling out the gluten-free bakery.

“Ireland has one of the highest incidences of coeliac disease in the world, and many of our customers are asking for gluten-free alternatives.

“While we already stock a large range of gluten-free products, we decided that the best way of addressing increasing customer demand was to build our own facility and create our own innovative in-store range,” he said.

The new production facility will be completely separate from the existing bakery to ensure that there is no cross-contamination of the gluten-free products with traditional flour.

The bakery will meet the highest standards in gluten-free food. Mr Scally sought advice from the Coeliac Society of Ireland to ensure it reached the exacting standards needed to protect disease sufferers from adverse reactions.

Mr Scally said: “initially it will just be for ourselves, but due to the feedback we have been getting for the bakery for the gluten-free product, once we get it up and running we will look to sending it further afield”.

Once it is completed, the bakery will be able to produce a wide range of baked goods, ready-meals, pies, soups and an array of other gluten-free products.

“When we talked to our customers, it became clear that they are frustrated at the restricted range and the high price of gluten-free options currently available in the Irish market,” said Mr Scally.

“While there are some excellent gluten-free products already on the shelves, customers simply want more choice and better value,” he said.