Convenience Takes on Ethnic Flavor
E thnic Heat and Eat Meals secured a coveted spot in SPINS research top 10 trend predictions for 2009. SPINS reports, As a cheaper alternative to take out or restaurants in rough economic times, natural shoppers will be looking to the frozen section for quality and good tasting ethnic dinners. Judging from the growing product lines from large companies including Amy's Kitchen, Kashi, Thai Kitchen and Tasty Bite, and smaller players including among others Sukhi's, Annie Chun's and StarLite Cuisine this seems true. According to SPINSscan Natural Data for the year ending in July 2009, sales of ethnic grocery entrees and mixes increased 1.3 percent to almost $16 million, while sales of frozen and refrigerated entrees increased 2.3 percent to $73 million. Ethnic convenience food may be surpassing trend status and moving closer to mainstream acceptance. It's time to stock your shelves, freezers and refrigerators with all manner of ethnic foods from Mexican, Indian, Chinese, Th ai and even the more exotic Moroccan and Middle Eastern fare (beyond hummus) that are on the horizon. As well as off ering a breadth of fl avors, the variety of delivery forms makes ethnic foods hot. Few other foods come in aseptic pouches, requiring nothing more than boiling water or a microwave, making them great emergency foods, when time or electricity is in short supply. New introductions appear mostly to be in Indian and Asian, with interest in Thai spreading quickly. Products range from noodles in bowls or with sauce, spice packets and ready-to-use sauces, to entrees and complete meals in a box, pouch, shelf-stable or frozen. Obviously, shelf-stable are most convenient for any kind of application but may not be as well accepted by the American consumer, yet. Judging from a recent appearance at a Costco food demonstration for Tasty Bite curry, sold in a 3-pack, Asian cuisine is going mainstream. Asian Food Growth Continues Two companies that started on the front line at farmer's markets are Sukhi's and Annie Chun's, both located in Northern California. Th e companies were born out of each company founder's love of food, based on fresh fl avors and ingredients and their ethnic heritage. Sukhi Singh was a teacher from India before entering the culinary world. Singh began her food foray by off ering her Indian sauces to chefs in Silicon Valley in 1993. She continued to expand her off erings, trying out new products on customers at selected San Francisco Bay area farmer's markets. Sukhi's, a family-run business, still attends farmer's markets but is growing quickly with the introduction of a frozen food line in 2006, now distributed nationally. Other products include chutneys, as well as packets of 6 diff erent cooking sauces (pastes) and spice mixes for those who want to do some cooking. Singh's daughter, Sanjog Sikand, Sukhi's marketing director tells me that they are just launching 5 SKUs of the new Lean Fare frozen line because no one else off ers lowered fat and sodium Indian meals. It's easy to hide fat, calories and sodium in Indian fare but that's not always what people want. We are off ering heart healthy alternatives. Sikand explains that their products have a higher price point (SRP $4.59 to $4.99) but they are manufactured locally and they offer naan (Indian flat bread) in By Jill Nussinow Natural Food Network Contributing Editor Convenience Takes on an Ethnic Flavor ETHNIC FOOD AISLE 10 Natural Food Network