Gluten-free bread brings in the dough; New loaf is a big hit.

Byline: By DAVID JONES

MORE jobs are being created at a bakery in North Wales after the gluten-free bread it makes proved to be a hit with overseas shoppers.

Just a fewmonths after the bakerywas opened, the Scandinavian Toasty range made by the Village Bakery has been voted the number one new product in 2008 by the Finnish Coeliac Association.

There has also been a huge amount of interest from other parts of the world - with enquires about the gluten-free range coming from as far afield as Australia.

To cope with demand, the pounds 3m bakery in Wrexham is adding a second shift and taking on even more people than originally planned,with the number of staff set to increase by 10 to 30.

The new bakery is the result of a fiveyear agreement with the Switzerlandbased babyfood company Hero AG.

The deal between the Village Bakery (Nutrition) Ltd and Hero AG would not have been possible without pounds 620,000 in funding from the Welsh Assembly Government.

First Minister Rhodri Morgan, who officially opened the new bakery in October, said: "I'm pleased to hear of the Village Bakery's international success in such a short space of time.

"This award-winning business is going from strength to strength by supplying a niche product to a niche market that is exporting. That is the key to success in these difficult economic conditions."

Robin Jones, Village Bakery jointmanaging director, said: "We are very proud of what we have achieved with the gluten-free range and we're naturally delighted that is has been so well received.

"The gluten-freemarket is growing at a fantastic rate which bodes well for the future. We've got huge interest from all over theworld and I recently had a phone call from Australia from somebody who wanted us to supply gluten-free bread Down Under.

"We're nowmoving to two shifts at the new bakery because of the sheer quantity of gluten-free bread we're making."

People with coeliac disease are unable to eat wheat based foods like bread that contains gluten.

The gluten-free range, comprising white, fibre and clean oat bread,made on Wrexham Industrial Estate, is sold under the Juvela brand in the UK and under the Semper brand in Scandinavia.

Charlie Sheppard, Juvela operations manager, said: "The business relationship is going extremely well, we have achieved our aims in relation to product quality in a short space of time.

"The award from the Finnish Coeliac Society confirms what Robin and his team have achieved in a short space of time."