The trend towards gluten free foods is continuing its meteoric rise. Both Kellogg and General Mills have recently announced that they will be offering gluten free products at the same prices, and in the same grocery-store aisles, as standard baked goods and cereals.

As a result gluten free flours, and rice flour in particular, are becoming more popular alternatives for gluten free food manufacturing.

The interest in gluten free foods can't be attributed to celiac disease alone. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease, and those who suffer from it become very sick from even the smallest amount of gluten. Since gluten is the protein found in wheat, wheat products are off limits for them, as well as many condiments, prepared foods, and even deli meats.

But only 1% of the population suffers from celiac disease. What's more likely fueling the interest in gluten free foods is the larger segment of the population suffering from gluten intolerance, a condition in which stomach pain, gas and diarrhea are brought on by consuming gluten.

At the same time there are many consumers who purchase gluten free foods because they feel that wheat products aren't healthy.

Rice flour has become so popular in gluten free foods because of its texture. White rice flour is very fine and soft, and suitable for baking that requires a delicate crumb. Brown rice flour, on the other hand, is a bit heartier, and is useful for a whole variety of products.

For those food manufacturers interested in substituting rice flour for standard flours in order to appeal to the gluten free demographic, it's important to remember that you can't do so without several additions that make rice flour act more like traditional wheat.

Most products feature a mix of gluten free flours - including rice flour, chickpea flour, soy flour and almond flour - along with additional starches to help lend gluten free products better form and texture.

This market continues to be a big one. For savvy food manufacturers who want to be involved in it the two most important means of establishing customer loyalty for gluten free foods is to create products that taste good, but that won't cause reactionary illness.

The modern problem of obesity among American kids has put a lot of pressure on food manufacturers to provide options that are attractive to kids as well as parents.

This, as we know, is easier said than done.

But one of the smart ways to make this possible is to incorporate whole grain flours into baked goods traditionally popular with children.

According to Packaged Facts, a market research firm, the companies who best appeal to parents in the next 10 years will be the ones who market themselves as the solution, not the problem, in terms of the obesity epidemic.

Currently 1 out of 3 kids in the US is overweight or even obese.

Parents have already begun making adjustments for their kids. Popular brand names have more and more begun advertising products with made with whole grain flour, lower sugar, and more "natural" ingredients.

Food manufacturers looking to appeal to the health-conscious parent can rely on whole grain flours because they often offer kids a taste and texture similar to what they prefer in the home.

Parents like knowing that these same foods offer their children nutritional value.

The market for children aged 2 to 12 is expected to grow by 40% in the next five years. As Americans become more aware of how obesity impacts children, it's likely that this is a trend that will carry on well beyond the year 2016.

If you're one of the many food manufacturers who found the cost of sugar to be painful last year, then the recent predictions on sugar futures by the Wall Street Journal won't be welcome news.

Last year sugar supplies in the U.S. dropped to an all-time low, a difficult situation given that the U.S. consumes more than 11 thousand metric tons of sugar annually.

The high demand--and low supply--led to the importation of sugar from foreign countries at very high tariff rates. These costs were filtered down to food manufacturers, who, along with their customers, absorbed the cost.

In America's current economic situation some consumers just weren't able to pay more for their favorite sugary treats, and many food manufacturing companies took a loss.

Now, companies and consumer alike are asking, "What if it happens again?"

A particularly difficult winter has delayed the planting of sugar beets in the midwest. With sugar beets providing the largest source of American table sugar and brown sugar, this could have quite an effect on the cost of these sugars come fall.

At the same time, record cold in Florida last December has damaged much of the state's sugar cane production, yet another source for America's sugar.

The shortage, if there will be one of serious proportions, will be most evident by the holidays; sugar beets are harvested in October, just in time for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

Fortunately many American suppliers have been scouting for different foreign partners in order to get the best prices. Strong harvests from other parts of the world brought foreign prices on sugar to more acceptable levels last year.

It's hoped that even if America's sugar yield is low, good harvests from abroad could curtail some of the upcoming costs. That, along with powerful lobbying to lower those tariffs, might offer food manufacturers and bakeries some sweet relief.