Applied Theory in Design: Mid Term Presentation on Ethnic Grocery Sourcing

Intent Statement

The intent is to help international students studying in the USA procure groceries from their native countries so that they can maintain their indigenous dietary preferences. In addition, also cater to American markets and promote cultural diversity and unity.

Our Target Group

International Students in the US

More than 1/3 1,250,000 1,000,000 750,000 500,000 250,000 0

From 2003 to 2021, the no. of International students in U.S. has increased to almost twice.

Stakeholder map

Through this, we got to know who to get information on while doing our secondary research and eventually who to interview for the primary research. Additionally, this helped us look at the people on the fringes, which has broadened the scope of our project.

ERAF map

This concludes the entire system of grocery shopping for people, in regard to our topic.

The system helped us analyse and look deeper into how various entities are related to each other and what should be our main focus points for the project going onwards.

Ethnic Grocery - Market Size

Volume of Ethnic food trade goods imports to the United States in 2001

The ethnic food market overall is believed to grow at a CAGR of 10.33% during 2021-2028.

Trends for Ethnic Grocery

Reasons behind expansion of ethnic grocery market - Netnography

All brands and their chains across the globe are focusing on to cater to and expand the ethnic food market.

packaged and frozen food

Hence international Students in the U.S. buy ready-to-eat ethnic meals in so that they don't have to rely on other food sources. bulk

Food Insecurity

International

International students self reported higher rates of food insecurity in comparison to domestic students.

10 years later, it was observed that of international students in the US were food insecure, which is almost 2 times more.

Food Insecurity

Through the lens of international students in USA

Eating habits were revealed to be incredibly significant both emotionally and physically, and they were also the least changing aspect of student life.

Food insecurity can have a significant impact on the well-being and identities of overseas students.

Transportation was a challenge for foodinsecure students.

Cultural Probe

To know what International students need in their daily diet

Around 25 people

100+ grocery items

11+ Countries

2 Different Time Frames

The Shed & Gulfstream

Cultural Probe

To know what International students need in their daily diet

Primary Research Inferences

88%

Most students don't mind exploring different cuisines, their comfort relies on home-cooked ethnic meals from their country.

Home cooked Delivery - Take-outs Ready-to-cook

Primary Research Inferences

49% eat ethnic food belonging to their own country almost everyday

49% Cooking essentials are bought and stocked up from ethnic grocery stores, everyday fresh grocery is bought from stores nearby.

Almost Everyday

More than twice a week

Rarely

Primary Research Inferences

Almost Everyday

More than twice a week

More Expensive

Less expensive

Rarely

While price is a concern for most international students, said they would still buy ethnic groceries that are expensive for them.

Primary Research Inferences

The problem is prevalent in small towns and cities because of the unavailability of public transportation which results in students relying on expensive cabs.

Interviews

International students in the US

5 Cities

5 Ethnicities

Interviews

students in the US

The Interview questions were based on these categories:

Primary Research Inferences

From Interviews

The orientation of the ethnic store and the people in it impact the experience of buying - language, organization of things, crowdedness - are some factors.

International students in USA consume frozen food and ready-to-eat food as it makes their job easier while making them feel homely.

The unavailability of certain famous brands from their country / ethnicity results into them adjusting with whatever they get for survival.

Primary Research Inferences

From Interviews

The products at ethnic stores aren't in abundance in terms of quantity and variety offered.

Some students feel alienated when inside the American supermarkets!

If there is not much online delivery charges, they would prefer ordering grocery online.

Primary Research Inferences

From Interviews

Take-outs and deliveries from ethnic food restaurants is a better option than cooking with improper ingredients.

Initially excited to explore the ethnic grocery store but eventually disappointed with the produce & items available.

There are limitations to how much and what we can order from the online grocery store.

Persona

Based on our Interview Inferences, we finalized four categories and worked on how our Interviewees will fit in each one:

Cooks & only wants food from their ethnicity

Doesn't cook much but relies on ethnic restaurants and takeout's

Doesn't cook much and is open to trying different cuisines

Aishwarya Rai

The loyal one

Aishwarya is on a strict budget as an international student from India and relies on free / subsidised services offered for students from either the government and / or her university.

Age 24

Career

Graduate level student

India

Boston

How often do they cook?

Observations

She finds her happy place in food from her country / ethnicity.

What do they have?

From American grocery stores, she tries to get things like veggies, rice etc. which may be spiced or flavoured later according to her taste.

Likes

Spicy, flavorful food from India

Relying on other people for food

Preferences

Not having to travel far distances for procuring ethnic groceries. Having a stock of fresh Indian fruits & veggies nearby or delivered. Having a variety of ingredients & brands to choose from.

She is unable to procure basic ethnic food from her country like lentils, spices, etc. in USA. She feels irritated when she has to return empty handed because products go out of stock.

Jackie Chan

The click & go type

Jackie is an international student from china. He is very calm and adaptable, but his happy place is having hot delicious food from his country in a takeout box. What

Age 23 China Savannah Origin Location

Career

Graduate level student

Likes

Dislikes

Traditional food of his own culture. Having to adjust with what he gets.

Observations

He finds his food items from china town market and kroger. But from there also he doesn t get the ethnic spices and ingredients of his culture. He relies on frozen food's packets.

Preferences

Wants food from his own culture.

Not having to travel far distances for procuring groceries

Likes to shop inperson to check quality & freshness. Wants things to be in stock at stores.

Frustrations

Doesn't get good quality and fresh veggies to cook his meals nearby even though there are two grocery stores in walking distance to him.

Not even china town market keeps spices from his ethnicity.

Lana Condor Age 25 Asia Los Angeles Origin Location

The adaptor

Lana Condor is a Game design student from Los Angeles. She is a social butterfly and and active explorer who likes to eat food from all different ethnicities while hanging out with friends.

Career

Graduate level student

Likes

Likes exotic flavorfull food.

Dislikes

Tasteless or very oily food

Observations

Being in a city like Los Angeles, finding a good multi-cuisine restaurant is not much of a problem for her she observed the ethnic groceries are two times more expensive than the normal groceries

Preferences

She prefers to cook daily but once or twice a week would opt for frozen food and take-outs from restaurants

She will use an online platform than a store setup as getting ethnic groceries will hassle free.

Frustrations

She has to travel too much to get ethnic groceries

She uses a lot of sources to source different ethnic groceries but every online setup has a very high charge so she can't order frequently as and when needed

Questions and Comments

Appendix

History of Ethnic food in the US

1900s 1800s 2000s

Became popular in the late 19th century

Introduced in the 1800s

Was minority food in 1930s

Popularized in 1920s

Widely consumed 1920s

Familiarity increased in 1970s

One of the most consumed ethnic cuisine today

History of Ethnic food in the US

1900s 1800s 2000s

Major popularization of ethnic food happened in the 1900s

History of Ethnic food in the US

Reasons ?

Mass migration

Global trade

Social Interactions

These reasons can become the opportunity areas to study for the research

Global Ethnic food import

Volume of Ethnic food trade goods imports to the United States in 2001

FoodandKindredProducts

AgriculturalProducts

FreshandChilledproducts Livestock

Total volume of ethnic food & grocery imported in the USA in 2021 was approx. 160 Billion US$

Trends for Ethnic Grocery

Retail sales of ethnic foods in the United States in 2013 and 2018 (in million US dollars)

15,000 10,000 5,000 0

10,995

12,505

2% 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 2013 2018

Ethnic Grocery

Availability of International grocery at supermarkets

More than 1/3

would like to see their favorite supermarket or food store offer more international food products.

Gen Z (56%)

Millennials (50%)

Ethnic Grocery

Consumer shopping behavioral patterns

22% of consumers

shop at their preferred grocery store instead of the most convenient one because of the availability of ethnic items.

Ethnic Grocery

Consumer shopping behavioral patterns

recommendation by their friends and family

Amongst all the factors of buying International food product for first time, people tend to rely more on than their ethnic heritage

Existing

in 2021

Ethnic Grocery

Retailers in U.S. in 2021

Patel Brothers has approx. 3 times more market than any other ethnic retail stores

Ethnic Grocery

No. of downloads of leading food delivery for takeout apps in the U.S. in 2021 (in millions)

Out of the leading 15 food delivery apps in America, 9 of them cater to food from different ethnicities especially Latin American and Italian.

Ethnic Grocery

Emerging Asian online setups in 2022

The USA now has multiple Asian online grocery retailers like Weee!, Umamicart, Quickly, Sarap Now, and Kim'C Market which are providing a feeling of homeliness to around

22 million people

Ethnic Grocery

The popular choice of ethnic grocery in the U.S. as per PLMA research

Supermarkets in the US have

approx. 65% of Mexican grocery products

Mexican

Chinese

Thai

Trends for Ethnic Grocery

Leading ethnic cuisines in the United States in 2019, based on Google popularity

Out of 10 different kinds of ethnic cuisines, food was the most popular type of food in the United States.

This is owing to the fact that China has the most amount of immigrants coming in here which amounts to 30.6%.

Trends for Ethnic Grocery

Share of International students in the US during the academic year of 2021/22 by country of origin

This is owing to the fact that China has the most amount of immigrants coming in here.

Ethnic Food and Americans

Behavior of Americans towards Ethnic food

Italian, Mexican and Chinese

are the leading shareholder of Ethnic cusines

Food Insecurity

Through the lens of international students in USA

According to Feeding America, "hunger" is the physical response to not eating, but "food insecurity" is a lack of financial resources to buy food.

“Someone who is food insecure may budget for food but still not have enough money or other resources to maintain the food supply they need for a healthy diet,”

Food Insecurity

Student behavioral patterns

In a recent ethnographic research, eating habits were shown to be extremely important both emotionally and physically it was also the component of student life that was least changeable. It suggests that cultural food insecurity can have a negative impact on the wellbeing and identities of international students and students who identify as ethnic minorities.

Food Insecurity

Transportation Proximities

According to Professor Richards, "one of the most difficult difficulties for foodinsecure students was transportation."

This is because most ethnic stores are not in the proximity of college campuses.

Food Insecurity

Food authorities rule and regulation

Importing food to USA is extremely difficult because one needs to comply with a minimum of 7-8 regulations & guidelines by FDA, USDA and CBP.

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