Waitrose has added 18 new and improved products to its FreeFrom range amid a surge in customer demand.

The upmarket retailer’s new FreeFrom offerings include a Strawberry & Jam Coconut Loaf Cake, Belgian Chocolate Viennese Fingers, Angel Cake Slices, Coronation Chicken Sandwich, and Soft White Rolls, extending the range to 42 products in total.

It comes as recent Waitrose customer data indicates that sweet treats and cakes lead the demand in FreeFrom eating, with year-on-year sales from FreeFrom cakes up 24%.

Sales of its FreeFrom Carrot Cake Slices and Fruit Scones are also up 36% and 17% for the same period.

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Waitrose FreeFrom product developer Tim Daly said: “We have focused on adding more of those delicious sweet treats that we know our customers love, with new products such as our FreeFrom Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and FreeFrom Sicilian Lemon & White Chocolate All Butter Cookies.

“These additions now make it much easier to shop for a friend’s birthday or bring treats in for colleagues who might require specialist products.”

Other categories such as FreeFrom cereals and pasta have also seen sales rise by 9% and 8%, respectively, while overall sales of the FreeFrom range rose by 7% in 2024.

With FreeFrom eating not confined to just gluten free foods, with many of the grocer’s products made without dairy, nuts and eggs, Waitrose is also seeing searches for terms such as “egg free” and “milk free” up 300% and 25% over the last seven days.

The new products come alongside the roll out of new packaging, which looks to help customers in identifying which allergens are absent with colour-coordinated labels on the front of pack.