FDBusiness.com

Milk-free cheese has hit Sainsbury’s shelves across the UK appealing to vegans and people with allergies and food intolerances by swapping in coconut-based alternatives.

The supermarket is selling seven coconut-based cheese alternatives in its ‘Deliciously Freefrom’ range, including a cheddar style in both block and grates, Wensleydale-Style with cranberries, Greek-style as an alternative to feta, cheddar-style with caramelized onion and soft cheese-style with garlic and herb.

The cheese-alternatives have been developed to be enjoyed in the same way as regular cheese, from melted on toast and stirred into pasta, to sprinkled over salads, says Sainsbury’s.

“We’re really proud to launch the widest range of supermarket own brand cheese-alternatives to the UK, including a number of products that are first to market. These cheese-alternatives, alongside our broader Deliciously Freefrom offering, allow our shoppers to prepare meals and enjoy products that they may have previously missed out on,” says Alexa Masterson, Sainsbury’s product developer for Deliciously Freefrom.

According to recent Sainsbury’s research, most long-for dishes for shoppers with allergies and intolerances are: pizza (82 percent), cheese board (77 percent), cheesecake (75 percent) and lasagne (73 percent). The cheese-alternatives, alongside other new Freefrom products, have been launched to help customers with food allergies and intolerances recreate their favorite meals.

The cheese alternatives are part of a full relaunch of the new ‘Deliciously Freefrom’ range with a host of new and improved products, from the frozen, canned and packaged and chilled aisles to ready meal choices like wheat, gluten and milk-free beef lasagne, or chilled wheat and gluten free pizzas. Sainsbury’s wants to make it more convenient for shoppers with food allergies or intolerances to complete their shop in one place.

The range include front-of-pack allergen labeling giving consumers important information at-a-glance. It now includes labeling for three further allergens of egg, nut and soya, in addition to the existing wheat, gluten and milk labels, giving more clarity on what is available.