Warburtons has revealed details of its venture into the burgeoning free-from market, claiming the eight-strong range of baked goods will plug a gap for quality gluten-free bread.

Rolling out in January, the launch marks the first time a mainstream UK baker has entered the free-from bread category, which has recorded a giant 61% sales growth to £13.3m over the past year [Nielsen].

Warburtons has spent the past four years working on the new lines and has invested £3m building a dedicated bakery in Newcastle. The range comprises 400g and 600g white and brown loaves, white and brown sub rolls, teacakes and crumpets.

Priced from £1.99 to £2.49, the range was not cheap to produce and had been difficult to develop to a quality Warburtons was happy, said commercial ­development director Jason Uttley.

The Newcastle bakery has made wholegrain maize flour and rice bran the core ingredients of the range, which means they are suitable for the one in 100 people in the UK with coeliac disease.

"Our hope is that we will be able to help this market continue to grow. A lot of people avoiding wheat are avoiding free-from products as well, because of the quality," said Uttley.

Marketing next year would target this "latent" demand and focus on coeliac sufferers as well as people who avoid wheat as a "lifestyle choice".

Warburtons' rivals Hovis and Kingsmill refused to comment on plans to launch gluten-free lines.

However, the current market leader in the free-from bread category, Genius, said its £3m investment in a TV campaign this autumn, along with NPD next year, would enable it to compete with the Warburtons entry.

"We feel the market is poised for growth, as not only is it satisfying consumers that suffer from gluten intolerance, but increasing numbers of consumers are reducing or eliminating gluten and wheat from their diets," said Genius senior brand manager Gemma Lawrie.