Gluten-Free Utopia, an inaugural Ottawa trade show for those with sensitive dietary needs, was declared a success by organizers after it took place last weekend at Library and Archives Canada.
The show is the first of its kind in Ottawa focusing on gluten-free products and regional vendors. The popularity of the products, and the enthusiasm for the event to become an annual one, reflected the growth of Ottawa’s gluten-free community.
The event was bursting with a buzzing crowd of about 1,000 people, who explored products ranging from baking ingredients to skin-care to beer.
The show included the distribution of no-charge, gluten-free goodie bags to the first 500 visitors. There was a long line outside before the doors even opened as enthusiasts braved the cold in hopes of being one of the first 500 to get in.
Samantha Maloney, the organizer, says she dreamed of holding an event like this years ago. After learning she could rent space in the high-profile public building on Wellington Street, she felt it was perfect in size and allowed her to plan a smaller version of events seen in cities such as Toronto and Vancouver.
Maloney says she aims to promote local vendors and products as much as possible. “Ottawa has a lot of gluten-free businesses, but a lot of them aren’t known,” she says.
The name for the event came from the idea of a space with no limitations for someone who avoiding gluten. It’s a space that some people have never experienced and for some it has been a very long time coming, explains Maloney.
Maloney says that over the past few years, the gluten-free community in Ottawa has been expanding and demanding better products. Now there is “a shift for healthier gluten-free options.” The event moved beyond gluten-free baking products, which “is the main thing with gluten-free people, but there are other things out there.”
The Canadian Digestive Health Foundation estimates Canadian families spend an average of $150 million a year on gluten-free products, and that there are about 330,000 Canadians affected by celiac disease.
Cate Ott owns The Mix Company, based out of Eganville. The company specializes in gluten-free and allergy conscious baking mixes. Ott began her business 16 years ago and due to an increasing demand from her clients, along with a need in her own life, she focuses solely on gluten-free foods.
She says locally prepared gluten-free products use whole ingredients that are generally much healthier than the packaged and processed versions sold by big companies.
“The gluten-free world is going to be very, very ill if they consume the premade food that is out there…We all need to own our health and what’s going in our bodies, and we can do that, its not as hard as it seems.”
Karen LeRoy came to supply the Trillium Bakery booth with more bread after it sold out within the first few hours. Her husband and mother-in-law own the bakery, located at 1181 Bank St.
“I think because of the turnout and there’s always a growing innovation of products that are coming out there…there are going to be more and more showcases like this in Ottawa,” she says.
With the variety of products showcased, every vendor had something different to offer. LeRoy says she’s enthusiastic the community came together like it did.
“I’m just really pleasantly surprised and amazed that we’ve got such a nice cross-section of suppliers that have come together…I’m like – go Ottawa!”