FREEE is bringing a premium Italian pasta experience to the gluten free aisle with the launch of Selezione. The new range features Italian-made pasta crafted in Lombardy using a carefully selected blend of white and yellow maize and rice, with 100% of ingredients grown in Italy.
Made with two ingredients – maize and rice – unlike most other gluten free pasta, FREEE Selezione is made without emulsifiers, E-numbers or additives, meeting customer demand for clean label food. Each shape is formed using traditional bronze dies and slow-dried, creating the texture and sauce-holding qualities associated with traditionally made Italian pasta.
Launching from November, the range brings some of Italy’s most characterful pasta shapes to the gluten free category. Casarecce is a short, gently twisted pasta with roots in Sicilian cooking, while Gnocchetti Sardi is a small, ridged Sardinian shape designed to carry rich sauces in every groove. Mafalde Corte brings Neapolitan character with its short, wide shape and distinctive crimped edges. Completing the launch is Alfabeto, featuring 26 letter shapes bringing a playful, family-friendly option to the range.
Made without any of the top 14 allergens and certified gluten free by Coeliac UK, Selezione is also suitable for vegans.
For retailers, Selezione offers a clear premium point of difference beyond gluten free credentials alone. Its combination of 100% Italian-grown ingredients, specialist Italian production, traditional pasta-making methods and a two-ingredient recipe gives shoppers tangible reasons to trade up.
Clare Marriage, founder of FREEE, said: “We wanted to create a gluten free pasta that could stand alongside the best pasta in the category. Selezione brings together the things that make Italian pasta special: carefully selected ingredients, traditional production methods and distinctive shapes, with a simple two-ingredient recipe.
“We’re particularly excited to bring these distinctive Italian shapes to the gluten free category. This is pasta made to be enjoyed for what it is; not as a compromise, but as a great Italian pasta in its own right.”
FREEE Selezione Gluten Free Casarecce (380g), Gnocchetti Sardi (380g), Mafalde Corte (380g) and Alfabeto (380g) are available from November via Ocado and freee-foods.co.uk, RSP £3.50.
