Healthy Tips For Better Life

Europe (France and Germany) Has Very Low Online Gluten Free Demand – See Why

France and Germany are expected to have large online gluten free search demand values, but they don't. Search volumes for Nov 2009 GF associated search term volumes were found and the results shown in the tables below:

France / French TOP TEN (Both English and French searches)

FRANCE - English speaking

Terms......................NOV 09 Volumes
Gluten......................5400
gluten free................1900
celiac.........................590
celiac disease.............320
gluten recipes............260
gluten free diet...........210
gluten free recipes......210
wheat gluten.............210
gluten diet.................210
wheat free..................210

FRANCE - French speaking

Terms............................NOV 08 Volumes
gluten intolerance..........2900
intolerance gluten..........2900
gluten free....................2400
free gluten....................2400
gluten allergies...............390
corn gluten...................390
celiac disease.................390
wheat gluten.................320
wheat free.....................260
gluten free bread............140

When compared to analysis for any of the leading gluten free online demand markets such as Australia, USA, Canada or UK, European country volumes are INCREDIBLY small. Even for Australia with a population just over 20 million, the term 'GF' itself has 165,000 searches! So instead of providing a top 50 analysis, the top 10 terms for Germany and France will be considered.

It is noted that Europeans are one of the most significantly affected celiac populations on earth. Diagnosis rates are also believed to be on par with other countries, as is expected of all developed nations. So the very low search volumes per month on Google is a very big anomaly.

GF food is regularly sold in eastern Europe and of course GF food is readily available online, so the very low levels are unexpected on all fronts. As for every other country, the generic 'gluten free' terms (in English searches) ranks the highest, followed by a celiac associated terms. Most of the terms and the order that compose the standard seven GF groups for other countries are present.

The French speaking searches (those on the Google French website) show a slightly different pattern. The emphasis seems to be more on the celiac disease than on generic GF terms. This usually means that a market is very immature, or that they dont eat standard wheat diet (such as the Japanese).

GERMAN TOP TEN (Both English and German speaking searches)

GERMAN - English speaking

Terms.........................NOV 09 VOL
gluten free.................2900
free gluten.................2900
celiac.........................880
celiac disease..............480
gluten recipes............320
wheat free.................320
sprue.........................320
wheat gluten..............320
GF recipes.................260
gluten bread..............210

GERMAN - (German speaking searches)

Terms.........................NOV 08 VOL
gluten free.................2900
free gluten.................2900
gliadin........................1900
celiac disease..............1000
wheat gluten...............260
wheat free..................260
GF diet.......................140
GF bread....................110
food gluten.................110
GF recipes..................91

The German - English speaking search volume order is similar to the France - English speaking order. The GF generic terms occupy the first two volume ranks followed by celiac associated terms. However unlike the French - French speaking keyword list, the German, German speaking volumes show a similar pattern to their English speaking volumes - ie GF followed by celiac associated terms.

Why are the European GF Online Searches so low?

Sales data from actual GF product sales in European countries is scant. WITHOUT DATA, all we can do is speculate as to the likely values. This article presents a unique viewpoint in comparing several European countries and different search languages within those countries. It is interesting that the search data is similar and very low in both the main languages (incumbent and English).

The internet penetration (web usage) is around 58% in France and 63% in Germany and Google has over 80% market share in both countries - so these results represent the 'lions share' of usage patterns. It is also believed that gluten products are often sold through pharmacies and specialty stores, so gluten free's image is more connected disease or health issues than accepted as a food alternative or just another range. It is likely that people in these countries are highly educated and just consume the GF foods they need to without looking for information online. This is a cultural difference between European countries and America, Australia, Canada and UK.

The cultural difference of European countries and how they seek information on their foods seems to be the main reason that search volumes are so low, not that interest in general or diagnosis levels are especially low.

CONCLUSIONS

Online GF searches in European cities (French and German) remain exceptionally low. As Europeans are believed to be particularly susceptible to celiac disease (they carry the celiac responsible genes), it is believed that low diagnosis levels and a propensity to still cook at home or avoid gluten dishes when eating out has created such a low online demand.

The reason that GF searches may be so low are that celiac disease may have gone untreated in these countries or that celiacs 'make do' with preparing their own home meals without gluten based products.

• Help I Am Allergic To Gluten
• What is a Gluten Free Weight Loss Diet?
• Brain And Neurological Problems Affect Almost Half Of Celiacs Even With A Gluten Free Diet
• Gluten-Free Vegetarian Meals – Nutritious and Delicious
• Feeling Tired During The Day? You May Just Want To Avoid Gluten In Your Food!
• Diet Rules For Celiac Disease