WORLD FOODS Food for thought

The UK’s love affair with international cuisine continues to fuel year-onyear sales growth as Britons shun traditional sauces and snacks for more spicy and exotic varieties. Convenience stores play a key role in raising the profile of world food among different neighbourhood shoppers – a survey by Mintel found that 74% of consumers agree that world cuisine flavours make at-home cooking more exciting. Innovation is key in the world- food flexi-scratch sector, which is why manufacturers have focused on developing existing products as well as bringing in new product ranges, which appeal to both scratch and convenience cooks.

Three-quarters of consumers, according to Mintel, are looking for nutritionally based dishes.

Upuli Ambawatta, brand manager, world-food portfolio, at Empire Bespoke Foods, says Indian food makes up more than one-third of ambient world food, and it remains the most popular world cuisine in the UK, followed by Mexican and Chinese.

“Indian food continues to evolve, with shoppers exploring new cuisines from across India, and one in five people eating Indian food at least once a week,” Ambawatta says.

“Oriental cuisine is also gaining popularity and has the highest growth contribution to the overall world-food category. We find younger (16-to-34-year-old) shoppers are the most receptive to new cuisines.”

Giuseppe Vullo, brand manager at Grace Foods UK, suggests that retailers can build tasting events around their world-food offering.

“We would be delighted to support any retailer doing this,” Vullo says. “To ensure they get the most out of an event, retailers need to really plan the event and nail down exactly who their target market is.

“Also, keep it simple as shoppers of-