Edinburgh based food company Genius, who are leaders in the UK gluten-free market, have extended their deal with the French international supermarket chain Carrefour.
Genius, who have been supplying Carrefour with bread and pizza since March of this year, will see the number of their products stocked in Carrefour’s Spanish hypermarkets increase to ten.
The products, which will be manufactured in the UK and exported to Spain, will be supplied in frozen form and will include breads and pastries such as croissants and pain au chocolat.
The Genius company was established by classically trained chef Lucinda Bryce-Gardyne, whose family founded the Lyons food empire. Lucinda found it impossible to find a quality gluten free bread for her son who is gluten intolerant, so she developed her own and Genius Gluten-free Bread was launched in 2009.
The rest, as they say is history, Genius products are now stocked in all the major UK supermarkets and independent stores, the company’s share of the UK gluten free market is in excess of 50% and its founder has recently been presented with the Ernst and Young Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Scotland 2012 award.
Commenting on the Carrefour deal, Chief Executive Roz Cuschieri said:
“The extended deal with Carrefour is another valuable stepping stone for us as we strive to become a household name in the European Gluten-free market. The growth opportunities for us in Europe are enormous.”
According to the Genius website, legend has it that croissants were first introduced into France by Marie Antoinette from her native Austria. The young bride missed her favourite pastry so much that she insisted that the royal chefs learned how to make them.
No such romantic legend exists for the origins of pain au chocolat.