Introducing a New Ingredient Solution for Gluten-Free Bakery

Roquette, a global leader in plant-based ingredients and a pioneer in sustainable food innovation, has launched WELLENCE™ GF 1229, a new functional ingredient solution designed to improve quality and processing performance in gluten-free bakery. Suitable for staples like loaves and bread rolls as well as bagels, pizza dough, and more, WELLENCE™ GF 1229 helps manufacturers overcome some of the category’s most persistent formulation challenges, keeping processing simple and costs controlled while delivering improved bread volume, finer crumb structure, and longer-lasting softness for consumers. 

Raising the standard for gluten-free bread

Consumer interest in gluten-free products continues to shape the entire bakery landscape, yet poor dough texture and handling, insufficient loaf volume, uneven crumb structure, and loss of softness over time remain key challenges in gluten-free bakery. Recent research involving over 7,000 gluten-free consumers across 13 European countries has highlighted that quality and availability remain important considerations for them, reinforcing the opportunity for manufacturers to deliver better-performing products¹.  However, another recent study found that despite 45% of consumers globally expressing interest in gluten-free foods, only 10% of global bakery launches in 2025 carried a gluten-free claim².  This gap highlights an opportunity for manufacturers to develop gluten-free bakery products to meet rising demand, but brands need solutions that can deliver consistent performance while keeping formulations commercially competitive.

WELLENCE™ GF 1229 is a novel cellulosic hydrocolloid solution that supports processing flexibility and delivers increased bread volume and slice height, a finer, more consistent and brighter crumb structure, and softer texture retained over time. In Roquette application trials, WELLENCE™ GF 1229 increased bread volume by 23% versus the market benchmark, while loaves made with WELLENCE™ GF 1229 demonstrated approximately 50% lower instrumental hardness after 21 days, indicating a softer texture even after prolonged storage³.  Early external application trials are also providing encouraging results across various gluten-free bread recipes, and customer evaluations have highlighted strong proofing and loaf expansion, as well as benefits to texture, crumb structure and mixing performance.

Delivering performance without added complexity

WELLENCE™ GF 1229 offers an attractive formulation proposition. As well as a low recommended usage level, which delivered improved cost-in-use than a benchmark ingredient in trials³, it is easily integrated into established baking processes. For manufacturers already using cellulosic hydrocolloid solutions, WELLENCE™ GF 1229 provides a straightforward route to improved product quality, and in the case of like-for-like substitutions, no label change is needed.

Accelerating innovation in gluten-free baking

WELLENCE™ GF 1229 will be presented to the industry at Fi Europe, which takes place in Frankfurt on 17-19 November, where visitors can meet with Roquette experts to discuss the solution and its potential across gluten-free bakery applications. It has also been shortlisted for the Fi Europe 2026 Innovation Award in the ‘Plant-Based Innovation’ category, with the winners to be announced on 17 November.
 

_{¹ Dean et al., 2024. Against the Grain: Consumer’s Purchase Habits and Satisfaction with Gluten-Free Product Offerings in European Food Retail, Foods.}

_{² Innova Trends Survey 2026, Innova Lifestyles & Attitudes Survey 2025, Innova Health & Nutrition Survey 2025, Innova Category Survey 2025.}

_{³ Roquette proprietary research.}