Gluten-free sweets are made without gluten, the protein in wheat, barley and rye — using rice flour, oats, almonds and so on instead of wheat flour.
L for You sweets are made without wheat flour, eggs, dairy or refined cane sugar. All our baked goods are vegan. We don’t use food additives as a rule. You can buy them at our Minami-Aoyama shop, and from our online store (within Japan).
Three things to check when choosing gluten-free sweets
“Gluten-free” can mean quite different things at different shops. If you choose for health reasons or allergies, these three points tell you most of what you need.
1. What replaces wheat
Rice flour, oats, almond flour, potato starch — each changes the texture and flavour. Rice flour is light and crisp; oats are crunchy. The word “gluten-free” alone won’t tell you this.
2. What sweetens them
Many sweets avoid wheat but still use refined cane sugar. You can check the sweetener on the ingredient label, but refining and bleaching don’t appear there, so ask the maker if it matters to you.
3. Eggs, dairy — and how they are made
Many gluten-free sweets still use eggs or butter. Whether the kitchen handles wheat also matters for people with severe allergies. It is best to ask the shop directly.
How we make our sweets
| Wheat flour | Not used. We use rice flour, whole-grain oats and more, without wheat down to the seasonings. |
|---|---|
| Eggs and dairy | Not used. All our baked goods are vegan. |
| Refined cane sugar | Not used. We use beet sugar and other sweeteners. |
| Additives | Not used, as a rule. The ingredients of each product are listed. |
| Strict vegan | Sugar and wine can be processed with animal-derived aids. The wine we use is vegan-certified. To check how the sugar is processed, please contact us. |
| Rice flour | Carefully chosen rice flour. However, the oatmeal cookie is oat-based and does not use rice flour. |
| Oats | Whole-grain oats. Oats themselves contain no gluten but can be contaminated with wheat during growing and distribution; the oats we use are under the Western gluten-free threshold (20 ppm). |
| Review | With standards reviewed by AFRODE CLINIC, we design how we choose ingredients and make our recipes. |
* We don’t call our sweets “additive-free”, because some baked goods use ingredients that count as additives on the label, such as leavening agents.
Gluten-free, vegan and “guilt-free”
| Gluten-free | Vegan | Guilt-free | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is avoided | Gluten from wheat, barley and rye | All animal-derived ingredients | No clear definition |
| Wheat | Not used | May be used | May be used |
| Eggs and dairy | May be used | Not used | May be used |
| L for You baked goods | Yes (no wheat flour) | Yes (all vegan) | No clear definition, so we describe what we do and don’t use instead |
Buy in Tokyo: our Minami-Aoyama shop
Our shop is on the ground floor along a quiet street in Minami-Aoyama, about 6 minutes’ walk from Omotesando Station (Exit A4): 1F Ikegami Bldg, 3-9-3 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo. It is a gluten-free and vegan-conscious cafe and grocery, and we bake our sweets here. What is on the counter changes from day to day, so if you are after something in particular, please call ahead.
Mon–Thu 11:00–20:00, Fri 11:00–21:00, Sat 9:30–21:00, Sun 9:30–18:00. See our shop and menu.
Shop online
Gluten-free and vegan cookies, donuts, pound cakes and tarts from our kitchen in Minami-Aoyama.
Shop online (opens in a new tab)
Ships within Japan only (frozen delivery for some items). Also available at our Minami-Aoyama shop.
Some items contain nuts such as walnuts and almonds. We don’t use wheat flour, and no wheat is handled in our kitchen. However, we cannot rule out trace contamination that comes from the raw materials themselves — for example, when an ingredient is grown or processed near wheat.
Allergens and contamination
We don’t use wheat flour, eggs or dairy, and no wheat is handled in our kitchen. However, we cannot rule out trace contamination that comes from the raw materials themselves — for example, when an ingredient is grown or processed near wheat, eggs or dairy. Some items contain nuts such as walnuts and almonds.
We are happy to answer questions about specific ingredients (we don’t provide written ingredient sheets). See allergens and how we make them.
FAQ
What are gluten-free sweets?
Sweets made without gluten, the protein in wheat, barley and rye, using rice flour, oats, almonds and so on instead of wheat flour. L for You mainly uses rice flour and whole-grain oats.
Can you say L for You sweets contain no wheat at all?
Our recipes don’t use wheat flour, down to the seasonings, and no wheat is handled in our kitchen. However, we cannot rule out trace contamination that comes from the raw materials themselves — for example, when an ingredient is grown or processed near wheat.
Are they additive-free?
We don’t call them “additive-free”. We don’t use food additives as a rule, but some baked goods use ingredients that count as additives on the label, such as leavening agents. The ingredients of each product are listed.
Can people with egg or dairy allergies eat them?
All our baked goods are vegan, without eggs or dairy. However, we cannot rule out trace contamination from raw materials grown or processed near eggs or dairy. Some items contain nuts.
Do you use refined cane sugar?
No. We use beet sugar and other sweeteners.
Where can I buy them in Tokyo?
At our shop: 1F Ikegami Bldg, 3-9-3 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo, about 6 minutes from Omotesando Station (Exit A4). Our online store ships within Japan only.
Can I give them as a gift?
Yes — people often choose them as gifts for someone with dietary restrictions. See sweets as a gift.