After just arriving in the UK for a month, Red Chopsticks finds itself in another magazine already! Our product is fully aligned with the article’s contents with regards to our focus to deliver a healthy product, authentic ethnic meals, premium quality products, along with an convenient packaging format that saves time. As a matter of fact, our product truly personifies the article’s statements. I guess that is why our Kid Bowl is prominently displayed above the Headline: “Authentic - as it should be.”    

“Authentic - as it should be  

The ethnic food market is estimated to be worth around £5billion in the UK alone, and with a 15% growth per annum the ethnic and speciality food sector is expected to further expand globally. The European Ethnic Foods Market Report reveals that the growth of the market is outpacing the food and drinks market as a whole in Western Europe, and while growing ethnic communities have influenced the success of the sector, other contributing factors are hugely responsible.

Changing consumer attitudes to food have prompted the growth of specific sectors such as the Chinese and oriental category which alone, enjoys a market shareof 42% due to its popularity amongst Europeans. In addition, the demand for Thai and Japanese food has grown in recent years, perhaps as a result of expanding age groups. The younger generation ofconsumer is now well travelled, aware of different cultures, and more keen to sample the cuisine of these various different cultures. However, the demand is particularly high for authentic dishes that can be created in the home as well as convenience foods of premium quality.

Driving the market forward, new product development continues to play a key role in the sector, and according to research from Keynote, much of this innovation is being influenced by the trend for healthier eating and for foods that contain lower levels of salt, fats and carbohydrates. Among the other factors influencing NPD are the desires of consumers for more authentic ethnic meals and consumer demand for more premium-range products. The introduction of more convenient packaging formats, such as microwaveable high quality rice, is also helping to boost sales.

The increasing consumer trend towards healthier eating has helped to introduce new products into the sector with health and well-being ethnic products also enjoying market success. Products such as instant noodles have been influenced by the traditional cuisine of Asian countries,but with consumer demand for healthier versions, organic ingredients have been incorporated into existing popular products to provide authenticity in addition to functionality.

The use of organic and healthier ingredients within authentic ethnic products has allowed smaller producers to manufacture their products on a larger scale and expand their product portfolio. As a result, a much wider choice of ethnic products are now available.

Keynote also predicts that the market for speciality and ethnic foods is forecast to show further growth up to 2011, with the factors determining the rate of expansion likely to include ongoing product innovations, continuing demand for convenience products, rising sales of premium ready meals, the introduction of more healthy ethnic meal options and increased numbers of regional and authentic dishes. Further increases in the number of people from overseas settling in the UK should also continue to provide a stimulus for the existing forms of ethnic foods and NPD.

One specialist area in particular that is experiencing successful growth is that of Halal and Kosher foods. With a global value of around £350 billion the opportunities for food manufacturers to enter the market are endless. With Halal and Kosher meat making up large parts of the sector, other areas such as confectionery and cereal are now opening up opportunities in the industry.

But it is not only Muslims and Jews that are choosing to eat Halal and Kosher, consumers are increasingly taking an interest in the methods of slaughter of animals, and the production of other products and associated them with being a cleaner, safer and healthier range of products. As a result of growing demand, major fast food retailers are now incorporating Halal into their menu by offering Halal certified meals and snacks on the high street. Although many are still at trial stage, their success is expected to influence growth in the sector.

The speciality food sector has indeed enjoyed success in recent years, and with consumers looking towards adopting a healthier lifestyle this is set to continue.However, consumer tastes are changing rapidly and so new product development should remain at the forefront of manufacturing as new cuisines emerge as popular choices. Authenticity still remains an important aspect of speciality food purchases, especially for those communities seeking the flavours of their heritage.

Read other interesting articles at http://www.fdimagazine.net/

This entry was posted on Monday, November 10th, 2008 at 8:37 am by sanguan and is filed under General, News and Updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.