Think Beyond The Eggroll
Look to regional fare from countries outside of China for product development inspiration within the Asian appetizers category.
These days, eggrolls and pot stickers are mainstays of retail freezer cases across North America. In fact, consumers now view these convenient frozen appetizers as mainstream snacks instead of exotic ethnic fare.
But with consumer interest in ethnic foods continuing to grow, retailers will find oodles of store brand product development opportunities outside these tried-and-true favorites — if they set their sights on current and emerging trends.
Trends with traction
One current trend that should have staying power is the coupling of Asian appetizers with packaged sauces, notes Peter Lee, CEO of Water Lilies Food, New York.
"Consumers now have a stronger palate, which is why unique packaged sauces sold with the appetizers should be a more common trend next year," he says. "Customers are more knowledgeable of ethnic sauces to be paired with appetizers that there is a higher demand for [them]."
That knowledge can be attributed, in part, to the growing number of sauces available in major restaurant chains, Lee adds, such as sweet Thai chili garlic, ponzu and other Asian vinaigrettes.
Another trend underway is that toward Indian appetizers at retail, notes Kara Nielsen, trendologist with the San Francisco-based Center for Culinary Development. She points to samosas as an example.
"I think there's room for more lands of Indian appetizers," she says.
One opportunity might lie in the pancake-like uthappam.
"It's made with lentil and rice flours, so it's gluten-free," Nielsen says. "It's sort of a savory pancake that you put vegetables on. You could put a coconut chutney in the package. It would be very interesting, and if you use familiar flavors like pineapple and cilantro, you can really put weight on it."
Trends on the horizon
But growth opportunities aren't limited to flavorful sauces or Indian appetizers. Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese fare is getting a lot of attention on the restaurant side — and some appetizers here might have enough mainstream appeal to prove worthy of product development on the retail side, Lee notes.
"Customers are more exposed to hot items such as bulgogi, kimchi and bibimbap. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Korean-influenced items in the appetizer aisle," Lee notes.
And Nielsen points to much consumer interest in Japanese snacks such as grilled skewered items coming out of the izakayas, or Japanese-style pubs.
"They use all types of different chicken parts with these very yummy marinades," she says. "So I would say the translation is look into Japanese marinades for shrimp, chicken parts, even vegetables. Is there a way of packaging that?"
Nielsen also notes much consumer interest in Vietnamese salad rolls such as spring rolls, tofu rolls and crispy egg rolls. She believes retailers could take the familiar eggroll to a "more Vietnamese place" by combining, for example, glass noodles with pickled shredded carrots and including a savory dipping sauce such as a Nuoc Cham sauce.
Other foodservice trends that could provide product development fodder for retailers are those toward multiple varieties of Asian dumplings and Asian flavors in non-Asian appetizers, according to Laura McGuire, editorial manager for Chicago-based Technomic Inc.
"This last trend would be easy to incorporate into existing retail products," she says. "Creating new flavors of popular appetizers is one way to revitalize interest in a product line."