Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The market
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- Figure 1: UK ethnic restaurant and takeaway market, market size and forecast, 2009-19
- Market factors
- Supermarket offerings become increasingly sophisticated
- Falling price of crude oil should benefit the sector
- Fewer Brits spending extra money on dining out
- Companies, brands and innovation
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- Figure 2: Selected ethnic restaurant/takeaway chains, by number of outlets, 2010-15
- Wide-ranging innovation
- The consumer
- Ethnic restaurants/takeaways remain a rare treat
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- Figure 3: Frequency of visiting an ethnic restaurant/ordering an ethnic takeaway/home delivery, 2012 and 2014
- Chinese is most popular ethnic restaurant/takeaway option
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- Figure 4: Use of and interest in ethnic restaurants/takeaways, December 2014
- Less than one in seven see ethnic restaurants as unhealthy
- Authenticity is important to diners in ethnic food
- Food from ethnic takeaways seen as less authentic than food eaten in ethnic restaurants
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- Figure 5: Qualities associated with ethnic food, by channel, December 2014
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- Ethnic restaurants and takeaways suffer from a poor value-for-money image
- The facts
- The implications
- Growth of online ordering services means takeaway market is better placed for growth than the eat-in sector
- The facts
- The implications
- Various operators look to expand on national scale
- The facts
- The implications
Trend Application
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- Mintel Trend: Experience Is All
- Mintel Trend: Fauxthenticity
- Mintel Trend: Guiding Choice
Market Drivers
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- Key points
- Supermarkets continue to improve their ethnic food offerings
- Ready meals
- Cooking sauces and seasonings
- African food gains visibility at retail
- Fewer consumers spending extra money on dining out
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- Figure 6: Trends in share of consumers who choose to spend their extra money (after bills are paid and they’ve bought all the things they really need) on dining out, November 2009-January 2015
- Fewer Brits enjoy spicy food
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- Figure 7: Agreement with the statement ‘I enjoy spicy food’, March 2012-December 2014
- Country-specific events in 2015/16 should boost individual cuisines
- Mexican cuisine to gain visibility in UK in 2015
- Rio 2016 Olympic Games will provide a focus for South American restaurants
- New allergen regulations place a burden on smaller operators
- Indian cuisine drives increase in purchase of ethnic food out of home
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- Figure 8: Indian, Chinese and Thai food – average grams purchased per person per week, out of home in the UK, 2001/02-2013
- Falling price of petrol should take pressure off margins
Strengths and Weaknesses
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- Strengths
- Weaknesses
Who’s Innovating?
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- Key points
- Cookery schools offer a useful bolt-on
- Wahaca taps into half term with free kids’ workshops
- Itsu looks for buy-in from diners through crowdsourcing
- Ethnic restaurants continue to build a presence in the retail channel
- Japanese/Peruvian: The new fusion?
- Packaging can provide a point of difference for takeaway/home delivery
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- Figure 9: The Grand Thali delivery box from The Chilli Pickle Canteen, Brighton
- Sushi looks to character merchandising to woo families
Segment Performance, Market Size and Forecast
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- Key points
- Improving economy should benefit ethnic restaurants/takeaways
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- Figure 10: UK ethnic restaurants and takeaways, market size and forecast, 2009-19
- Ethnic restaurants
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- Figure 11: UK ethnic restaurant market, market size and forecast, 2009-19
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- Figure 12: UK ethnic restaurant market, market size and forecast, 2009-19
- Ethnic takeaways
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- Figure 13: UK ethnic takeaway market, market size and forecast, 2009-19
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- Figure 14: UK ethnic takeaway market, market size and forecast, 2009-19
- Forecast – total market
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- Figure 15: UK ethnic restaurant and takeaway market, market size and forecast, 2009-19
- Nationwide expansion of large chains should benefit the market
- Sector still faces challenges
- Forecast methodology
Companies and Products
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- Online ordering services
- Deliveroo
- Just Eat
- Indian
- Sector overview
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- Figure 16: Selected Indian restaurant/takeaway chains, by UK outlet numbers, 2010-12 and 2015
- Ashoka (Harlequin Leisure Group)
- Aagrah Group
- Masala Zone
- Rasa
- Japanese
- Sector overview
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- Figure 17: Selected Japanese restaurant/takeaway chains, by outlet numbers, 2010-12 and 2015
- Itsu
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- Figure 18: Itsu Limited, financial performance, 2009-13
- Wasabi
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- Figure 19: Wasabi Co Limited, financial performance, 2010-13
- YO! Sushi
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- Figure 20: YO! Sushi UK Limited, financial performance, 2009-13
- Chinese
- Sector overview
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- Figure 21: Selected Chinese restaurant/takeaway chains, by outlet numbers, 2010-12 and 2015
- Hotcha
- Ping Pong
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- Figure 22: Ping Pong Limited, financial performance, 2010-14
- Real China
- Other Asian
- Sector overview
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- Figure 23: Selected other Asian restaurant/takeaway chains, by outlet numbers, 2010-12 and 2015
- Pho
- Wagamama
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- Figure 24: Wagamama Limited, financial performance, 2010-14
- South American, Mexican and Caribbean
- Sector overview
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- Figure 25: Selected South American/Mexican/Caribbean restaurant and takeaway chains, by outlet numbers, 2010-12 and 2015
- Chiquito
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- Figure 26: Financial performance of Chiquito Limited, 2010-13
- Las Iguanas
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- Figure 27: Financial performance of Las Iguanas Limited, 2010-14
Brand Communication and Promotion
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- Key points
- Wagamama adspend rockets in 2014 with radio and in-store campaigns
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- Figure 28: Above-the-line expenditure of selected operators in the ethnic restaurant and takeaway market, by 2014 expenditure, 2010-14
- Radio and press are favoured forms of media for ethnic restaurants
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- Figure 29: Above-the-line expenditure of selected operators in the ethnic restaurant and takeaway market, by media type, 2014
- YO! Sushi targets tech-savvy under-35s with TV advert
- Aagrah launches first TV advert
- YO! Sushi in movie tie-up with Disney’s Big Hero 6
- Brands encourage photo sharing through social media channels
The Consumer – Frequency of Visiting Ethnic Restaurants/Takeaways
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- Key points
- Four in five consumers eat at ethnic restaurants
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- Figure 30: Frequency of visiting an ethnic restaurant/ordering an ethnic takeaway/home delivery, 2012 and 2014
- Ethnic takeaways are eaten more frequently than restaurant meals
- In-venue experiences could encourage restaurant dining
- Younger consumers more likely to use ethnic restaurants
- Consumers use ethnic restaurants less often than in 2012
The Consumer – Usage of and Interest in Ethnic Restaurants/Takeaways by Cuisine
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- Key points
- Chinese is most popular ethnic restaurant/takeaway option
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- Figure 31: Use of and interest in ethnic restaurants/takeaways, by cuisine, December 2014
- Men’s and women’s preferences for Chinese restaurants differ
- Caribbean and Malaysian restaurants garner greatest interest in trial
- Caribbean
- Malaysian
- C2DEs and lower earners less open to trying new ethnic restaurants
- New restaurant openings should boost Korean cuisine in 2015
The Consumer – Qualities Associated with Selected Ethnic Cuisines
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- Key points
- Less than one in seven diners see any cuisine as unhealthy
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- Figure 32: Qualities associated with selected types of ethnic restaurant/takeaway, December 2014
- One in five see Indian and Mexican food as too spicy
- Laying out menus according to heat level would showcase the range available
- Only one in four (25%) see any ethnic cuisine as special
- Just one in 10 see Middle Eastern food as fun
- Caribbean and Middle Eastern cuisine seen most widely as hard to find
- Marked difference in value-for-money perception between selected cuisines
The Consumer – Attitudes towards Ethnic Restaurants/Takeaways
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- Key points
- Authenticity matters to diners
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- Figure 33: Attitudes towards ethnic restaurants/takeaways, December 2014
- Transparency should help to promote authenticity
- Open kitchens garner interest amongst two in five
- ‘At table’ preparation offers an alternative to open kitchens
- One in three interested in multi-cuisine restaurants
- Collaboration could benefit single-cuisine operators
- Menus tailored to special religious/cultural events appeal to one in five
- Wide variety of events exist for restaurants to base special menus around
- One in five interested in buying ethnic food from a mobile van
The Consumer – Qualities Associated with Ethnic Food by Channel
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- Key points
- Food from ethnic takeaways seen as less authentic than from restaurants
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- Figure 34: Qualities associated with ethnic food, by channel, December 2014
- Eat-in ethnic restaurants face poor value-for-money perception
- Adding value should help improve the value-for-money perception
- Just one in seven see takeaway food as exciting
- Less than a third see eat-in ethnic cuisine as fresh
Appendix – Market Drivers
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- Fewer people replacing restaurant dining with indulgent food at home
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- Figure 35: Grocery shopping habits: Agreement with the statement ‘I treat myself to indulgent food at home instead of eating out at restaurants’, December 2013-December 2014
Appendix – Segment Performance, Market Size and Forecast
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- Ethnic restaurants and takeaways
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- Figure 36: Best- and worst-case forecast for the UK ethnic restaurant/takeaway market, by value, 2014-19
- Ethnic restaurants
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- Figure 37: Best- and worst-case forecast for the UK ethnic restaurant market, by value, 2014-19
- Ethnic takeaways
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- Figure 38: Best- and worst-case forecast for the UK ethnic takeaway market, by value, 2014-19
Appendix – The Consumer – Frequency of Visiting Ethnic Restaurants/Takeaways
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- Figure 39: Use of and interest in ethnic restaurants/takeaways, November 2012
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Appendix – The Consumer – Usage of and Interest in Ethnic Restaurants/Takeaways by Cuisine
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- Figure 40: Top 10 countries of last residence of migrants who are not British citizens, 2013*
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