The costs of eating gluten-free

We leverage a large dataset of U.S. bakery products to comprehensively study price and nutritional composition of gluten-free products in comparison with gluten-containing items. Using data from 2013 to 2022, and controlling for time and manufacturer fixed effects as well as other product claims such as ‘all natural’, our findings suggest that gluten-free products are up to 85% more expensive than gluten-containing ones. In addition, gluten-free products have a different nutrient profile. Across product subcategories, they contain more total fat than gluten-containing products – as much as 113% more in the bread subcategory. However, compared to their gluten-containing counterparts, gluten-free breads contain less sodium, gluten-free cookies contain more fibre and gluten-free pastries contain more fibre and less sugar. We conclude that unless gluten-free products are medically prescribed, consumers should carefully weigh all product characteristics when choosing between gluten-free and gluten-containing versions of the same product.