BM#26 - Gluten-free apple flour
Product description

Apple flour is gluten-free and can be used either for human nutrition or for natural cosmetics. Basically, there are two ways that apple flour can be produced: One way is to process apples directly into apple flour, and the second is to process finely milled, dried apple pomace. Apple pomace is a by-product of apple juice production and is composed of apple pulp residues, peels and seeds. Apple pomace is often considered as waste, but it still contains a high amount of nutrients, which makes apple pomace interesting and valuable for human nutrition and skin care.
Italy
Business and marketing opportunities
Implementation hurdles
Suggestions for the next steps
Slovenia
In Slovenia, apple flour is relatively new on the market, but it is considered as a product with a high potential, as it can be used in gluten-free food production. Production and use were discussed during a focus group workshop with experts from Slovenia. Later, the apple flour was tested in gluten-free pastry production and its parameters evaluated.
Business and marketing opportunities
Business and marketing opportunities were discussed according to the customer segments, such as end consumers and users using apple flour as an additive to the final product. In the case of end consumers, the material and design of the packaging must be such as to inform the customer that it is a natural product and that this product represents the specific values mentio-ned above. Among bakers, confectioners, innkeep- ers and restaurant managers, it is necessary to find those who share similar values as those represented by the product. In kitchens of public institutions that are tied to public procurement, a different approach is needed in terms of green public procurement. The consumer market has increased interest in zero waste and circular economy food production. A product such as apple flour being based primarily on leftover material and offering a gluten-free alternative to tradi-tional flour offers excellent opportunities for successful marketing positioning.
Implementation hurdles
First of all, it is still unclear how large the market for apple flour in Slovenia is. This makes it hard to estimate the costs and benefits. Although gluten-free products are more and more in demand on the market, apple producers see gluten-free apple flour as a niche product with strong competition on the market. In addition, apple flour production from apple pomace has many technical and investment-related hurdles. To process the apple pomace, special machinery is needed. As many businesses don’t yet own such a machine, investments into equipment would be needed. Also, the logistics of the apple flour tend to be demanding in terms of storage conditions and packaging material.