Surf City, NC -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/15/2016 -- The results have been tabulated for the 7th Annual Gluten-Free Awards presented by The Gluten-Free Buyers Guide. This year 3,527 people participated in the voting process. The 96,128 individual responses in over 50 categories are compiled in The 2017 Gluten Free Buyers Guide and used for gluten free shoppers and grocery category managers.

Results can be obtained by visiting http://www.glutenfreebuyersguide.com/gluten-free-awards.html

The 7th Annual Gluten-Free Awards Categories are:

Bagels
Beer
Blogs
Book
Bread
Bread Crumbs
Bread Mixes
Breakfast On-The-Go
New: Brownie Mix
New: Cake Mix
Children's Books
Cold Cereals
College Campuses
Comfort Foods
Cookbooks
Cookie Mixes
Cookies
New: Cornbread Mix
Cosmetic Brands
Crackers
Donuts
Expos
Flours
Frozen Meals
Frozen Pancake & Waffle Brands
Frozen Pizza Brands
Granola
New: Jerky
Magazines
Mobile Apps
New: Muffin Mix
Munchies
National Restaurant Chains
New Products
Non-Profits
Online Resources
Online Stores
Pancake and Waffle Mixes
Pastas
New: Pie Crust
New: Pizza Crust Mix
Ready Made Desserts
Sauces
Shopping Guides
Snack Bars
Social Media Platforms
Summer Camps
Supplements
Tortilla or Wrap
Vacation Destinations
Websites

A portion of this year's Gluten Free Award Winners:

4C Foods Corp.
Against the Grain Gourmet
ALDI US
Amazon.com, Inc.
Amy's Kitchen
Anheuser Busch
Annie's Homegrown Foods
Arbonne Cosmetics
B&G Foods, Inc.
Bakery On Main
Barilla
Betty Crocker
Beyond Celiac
Bfree Foods
Bob's Red Mill
Boulder Brands
Canyon Bakehouse
Canyon Oats
Celiac Disease Foundation
Chipotle
Continental Mills, Inc
Enjoy Life Foods
Epic
Erica Dermer
Freschetta
Garden of Life
General Mills
GF Jules
Gluten Free Living Magazine
Gluten Free Media Group
Gluten Intolerance Group of North America
Glutenberg
Glutenfreeda
Glutino
Ian's
Jennifer Esposito
Katz Gluten Free
Kent State University
KIND, LLC
King Arthur Flour
Kinnikinnick Foods
Krave Jerky
Krusteaz
Larabar
Living Without
Luna
Mission Foods
My Grandpa's Farm
Natures Path
New Planet
Nicole Hunn
Nima Labs, Inc.
Oberto Sausage Company
P.F. Chang's China Bistro
Pamela's Products
Red Apple Lipstick
Red Robin
Royal Caribbean Cruises
Rudi's Gluten Free Bakery
Saffron Road Food
San-J International Inc.
Schar US
Simply Gluten Free
Snyder's-Lance, Inc.
tarte Cosmetics
Tate's Bakeshop
TH Foods, Inc.
The Walt Disney Company
Three Bakers
Tiffany Hinton
Trader Joe's
Udi's
Van's Foods

The gluten free market will reach $6.2 billion by 2018, according to a report from MarketsandMarkets. This is great news for gluten free food producers; however, the problem will become product differentiation as competition grows. Those with solid Gluten Free Award performance will have the ability to market their earlier successes and establish their products as "Best in Class".

Congratulations to all of this year's Gluten Free Award Winners.

About The Gluten Free Awards Program
Josh Schieffer and Jayme Schieffer created the Gluten-Free Awards eight years ago, after they found families like them who couldn't afford to experiment with expensive gluten free products. They needed to quickly find products their family would actually enjoy without the financial burden. It was bad enough to have a Celiac Disease diagnosis but their grocery bill doubled and some of their family favorites disappeared instantly.

They didn't ask for permission, they just started with a one-page website and a few hundred gluten-free people who had struggled along with them. Fast forward a few years and that one-page website has turned into a published gluten free buyers guide that is distributed to thousands of people including grocery store buyers and category managers.

Each year they give back to the community and focus on their mission by distributing as many free copies of the guide as possible during a short time each year. The number of free copies distributed is a fundamental method in which they measure their success.

"We are amazed and blessed that the Gluten Free Awards Program is now going into its eighth consecutive year while facilitating a collective and forceful voice from and for the community. Personally, I don't always agree with the results. Each year some of our personal favorites don't make the nominations. However, we are passionate about the power of the collective results that are generated. The majority votes rule and that is how the gluten free awards are determined." Josh Schieffer

This year there are over 50 categories and some of the results are going to literally shock the gluten free community. Josh and Jayme have agreed to a 90-day exclusive deal with Amazon that gives them the opportunity to leverage Amazon's size and distribution channels.

How The Gluten Free Awards and Buyers Guide works in 5 simple steps.

Step 1: Brands register their product(s) throughout the first part of the year.

Step 2: In Summer, thousands of people vote for their favorite bloggers.

Step 3: The forty most influential bloggers are then given an opportunity to make nominations.

Step 4: In Fall all the nominations are set and open to public voting.

Step 5: In December the results are published in the Annual Gluten Free Buyers Guide.

Contact Information:
Josh Schieffer
VP Sales and Marketing
Gluten Free Buyers Guide and Awards
Josh@GlutenFreeBuyersGuide.com
828-455-9734
http://www.glutenfreebuyersguide.com