Out Of The Ordinary

Pop quiz: What is the favorite dish of the British? If your answer is fish and Chips or bangers and mash, you're dead wrong.

A January Food Network UK survey found that Chinese stir-fry is now the most frequently cooked meal in the United Kingdom, according to an article in British newspaper the Daily Mail. Even more interesting, the dish took the place of another ethnic dish as Britain's fave: chicken tikka masala, an Indian dish former British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook once said demonstrates how Britain "absorbs and adapts external influences."

But mainstream acceptance of ethnic foods isn't just a British phenomenon. Cheryl Tsang, co-owner and vice president, sales and marketing of Fullerton, Calif.-based Starport Foods, says ethnic foods have been making their way onto the typical American's table for years.

"Think about how many ethnic or specialty food items have now transitioned to become mainstream items: soy sauce, kosher salt, jasmine rice, tortillas, ramen noodles, soy milk and — currently — Greek yogurt," she says.

The rise of Mediterranean

Greek yogurt seems to be today's darling of Mediterranean foods in the mainstream market. According to Howard Eirinberg, president of Glendale Heights, Ill.-based Kronos Foods, the Greek yogurt category has captured 25 percent of the total yogurt retail market.

"The product's popularity is primarily due to its health benefits, including containing twice the protein of regular yogurt and containing probiotics and live active cultures … and little to no cholesterol," he states.

Hummus is another Mediterranean food of which mainstream consumers can't get enough, Eirinberg says.

"In fact, the flavored dips and spreads category — of which hummus is a major component — grew 60 percent from 2009 to 2011," he points out. "With so many flavor options now available — from roasted red pepper and olive oil to Mediterranean and curry — hummus" appeals to all sorts of mainstream consumers.

Other Mediterranean foods that currently are in vogue with mainstream consumers are flatbreads, falafel and souvlaki (shish kebab), "as the Mediterranean diet continues to gain in popularity," Eirinberg explains.

Asian innovation

On the Asian side of ethnic dishes, consumers still love Chinese food — and they will continue to seek it out in stores.

"[It] will stay around," says Milan Sandhu, co-owner of Downingtown, Pa.-based August Foods. "It's almost a comfort food at this point."

Potstickers, in particular, continue to be popular with mainstream consumers, says Stephen Chen, owner of Joyce Chen Foods, Acton, Mass. He believes potstickers are a rather versatile Chinese dish that can be added to a wide variety of meals — ethnic or not.

"You could have potstickers for your appetizer, or as a side dish with another non-Asian-type of dish," he explains.

But retailers looking to get in on the cutting edge of Asian cuisine should consider store brand product development centered on Thai food, Sandhu points out.

"[Chinese food is] not fresh and not news," she explains. "Thai flavors are kind of the new Chinese."

Tsang agrees that Thai flavors are becoming more and more popular with the mainstream crowd, adding that retailers should consider launching a pad Thai sauce under their own brands — for customers looking to add some Thai flair to their cooking.

Korean food also is where it's at, Sandhu says, pointing to bulgogi — a dish consisting of marinated barbecued meat — as one hot spot.

Also popular is roasted Korean seaweed, which Tsang says is Starport's top ethnic seller for its retail customers.

"These thin, crisp strips of seaweed are delicate, flavorful, healthy and addicting," she says.

And within the Indian food category, retailers might want to consider rolling out products that appeal to Americans' increasing desire for snacking. "Ethnic Foods - US," a January report from global market research firm Mintel, notes that the Indian food segment could "benefit from an influx of Indian snack foods, such as samosas and pakoras."

Beyond Tex-Mex

As for Hispanic foods, consumers want more than just Tex-Mex products, Sandhu says.

"I think people are kind of moving further into Latin America, asking 'What's Brazilian food?' and 'What's Cuban food?'" she says.

Moreover, retailers need to move beyond the basic mild, medium and hot profiles when developing authentic Hispanic sauces or salsas with a spicy profile, says Ann Stettner, co-owner of Medusa, N.Y.-based Wild Thymes. And they need to make sure the products are not just hot for the sake of being hot — spicy products also should have good flavor.

"You've got to refine it," she says. "You've got to use interesting types of peppers that give flavor, not just heat. … Let's say you wanted a smokiness to it — you'd use some chipotle pepper. Or you want a sort of sweetness — you might go with an ancho."

Appeal with packaging

Retailers also need to invest in packaging that communicate's an ethnic product's authenticity to shoppers. Labeling needs to be bright and colorful, including pictures or vignettes that "embrace" the ethnic origins of a product, says Jack Kichura, business development analyst with Mizkan Americas, Mount Prospect, Ill.

Sandhu agrees.

"People want a little bit of history or a little story with packaging," she explains. "What is this? Why am I eating it? Why do I care?"

To teach customers more about a product, retailers could print quick-response (QR) codes on packaging, Chen says. The codes could link to a webpage detailing the product's history, nutritional info and more.

"I've been incorporating QR codes into the package [of our Joyce Chen products]," he notes. "So people can go to the store, scan it with their phone, and they can actually see a demonstration on how to prepare the product. They get more information than [what's printed] on the bag."

Packaging also has to has functional benefits, says Andrea Ables, marketing manager with Select Store Brands — a division of Ontario, Calif.-based Haliburton International Foods.

"Convenience packaging such as microwave steam pouches, resealable zipper pouches and smaller portion sizes are allowing for a more inquisitive consumer to experience global flavors in a package that delivers an easier cooking experience," she points out.

Mind how you merchandise

After a store brand ethnic product is packaged and on shelves, Tsang recommends educating store-level employees so they can answer any questions shoppers might have about it.

And "ask manufacturers and brokers for support in your educational programs," she adds.

Moreover, cross-merchandising does wonders to sell ethnic products, Stettner says.

"For example, if you're adding in a chutney, you need to be merchandising that … with your poultry, with your meats or in your seafood department if it's more of a seafood-driven-type of chutney," she says. "You also need to put it in your cheese department. It [doesn't need to be] permanently there, but at least demo it with cheese."

Sandhu also believes in the power of demos.

"We used to do a lot of demos," she explains. "That was when Indian food was still on the rise, and now it's more popular than it was then. Demos brought customers to us more than anything else. Whatever product we're selling, wherever we're selling it — if there's a demo, it flies off the shelf. … Yes, you're giving away product. But you're getting a [loyal] customer for that product."

But Ables points out that a product has to be of good quality and easy enough to prepare at home if retailers want shoppers to return for the product time and time again.