Gluten-free bread brand Genius is to launch in the US after signing a deal with an American gluten-free bakery manufacturer and distributor.

Glutino Food Group will manufacture Genius’ white and brown gluten-free bread under licence, with the frozen loaves distributed across the US and Canada to retailers including Safeway, Target, Save Mart, Tops, ShopRite, PriceRite, Wegmans and Ralphs.

According to Mintel, the US market for gluten-free products is expected to reach $2.6bn by 2012, with 8% of the US population looking for gluten-free products when they shop.

Gervase Cottam, chief executive of Genius, said: "We have created a winning recipe for the UK and we now have high hopes to replicate that success in the US, which is obviously a potentially huge market for us. In Glutino we have found a partner that shares our vision for the future."

Genius Foods, which was set up by chef Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne, is part of a joint venture with Finsbury Food Group in the UK, which manufactures products from its UCB bakery in Scotland. The brand, which launched in 2009, has listings at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Waitrose and the Co-op.