Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- The market
- Sales continue to fall in 2015
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- Figure 1: Total UK retail value sales of Indian, Chinese and Mexican foods, 2010-20
- Indian and Chinese food see decline continue
- Scratch cooking trend continues
- Growth of 25-34s is good news for ethnic
- Rising spend to facilitate trading up
- Companies and brands
- Leading Indian and Chinese brands see sales fall
- Increased focus on authenticity
- New products look to leverage interest in scratch cooking
- Adspend rises as Premier Foods steps up spend
- The consumer
- World cuisines hold wide appeal
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- Figure 2: Usage of and interest in ethnic foods in the last three months, by cuisine type, November 2015
- Chinese and Indian food is eaten near universally
- Interest in ethnic food not translating into specific occasions
- High interest in kits
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- Figure 3: Interest in types of ethnic food product, November 2015
- All-natural ethnic products appeal
- Consumers are hungry for guidance
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- Figure 4: Attitudes towards ethnic foods, November 2015
- Authentic ingredients appeal
- Familiar cuisines enjoy strong flavour image
- Ethnic cuisines struggle on fun and value
- What we think
Issues and Insights
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- High interest in emerging cuisines presents opportunities
- The facts
- The implications
- Kits warrant further attention in ethnic foods
- The facts
- The implications
- In-store visibility can drive interest
- The facts
- The implications
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Sales continue to fall in 2015
- Near-stagnant sales predicted over 2015-20
- Indian and Chinese food see decline continue
- Scratch cooking trend continues
- Growth of 25-34s is good news for ethnic
- Rising spend to facilitate trading up
Market Size and Forecast
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- Sales continue to fall in 2015
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- Figure 5: Total UK retail value sales of Indian, Chinese and Mexican foods, 2010-20
- Forecast
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- Figure 6: Total UK retail value sales of Indian, Chinese and Mexican foods, 2010-20
- Figure 7: Total UK retail value sales of Indian, Chinese and Mexican foods, by format, 2010-20
- Forecast methodology
Segment Performance
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- Indian and Chinese food see decline continue
- Ready meals and cooking sauces hit by competition
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- Figure 8: UK retail value sales of Indian, Chinese and Mexican foods, by cuisine type and format, 2013-15
Market Drivers
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- Scratch cooking is still gaining momentum
- Scratch-cooking benefits ingredients
- More opportunities for meal kits…
- …and for sauce kits
- ‘Hidden’ ingredients in cooking sauces and ready meals a concern
- The changing demographic composition
- Growth of 25-34s is good news for ethnic food
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- Figure 9: Trends in the age structure of the UK population, 2010-15 and 2015-20
- Average household size shrinking
- Consumer confidence is increasing
- Rising spend should facilitate trading up to premium…
- …but also to foodservice
Companies and Brands – What You Need to Know
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- Leading Indian and Chinese brands see sales fall
- Increased focus on authenticity
- New products look to leverage interest in scratch cooking
- Adspend rises as Premier Foods steps up spend
Market Share
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- Leading Indian brands see sales fall
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- Figure 10: Leading brands in the Indian ready meals, cooking sauces and accompaniments market, by value, 2013/14 and 2014/15
- Blue Dragon maintains its lead in Chinese food
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- Figure 11: Leading brands in the Chinese ready meals, cooking sauces and accompaniments market, by value, 2013/14 and 2014/15
- Old El Paso see sales growth
- Old El Paso retains its lead
- Santa Maria loses momentum
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- Figure 12: Leading brands in the Mexican ready meals, cooking sauces and accompaniments market, by value, 2013/14 and 2014/15
Launch Activity and Innovation
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- Increased focus on authenticity
- Referencing regions
- Drawing on local ingredients
- Retail products take cues from street food
- Noodle snack pots see a flurry of new ‘authentic’ products
- Emerging cuisines continue to gain attention
- Marks & Spencer explores Middle Eastern tastes
- Soups take inspiration from emerging cuisines
- New products look to leverage interest in scratch cooking
- Online services provide a guiding hand for scratch cooks
- Birds Eye’s Stir Your Senses hopes to tap into scratch cooking
- Colman’s launches meal kits
- Sharwood’s targets stir fry-occasions with Stir Fry Melts
Advertising and Marketing Activity
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- Adspend rise as Premier Foods step up spend
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- Figure 13: Recorded above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on world cuisines*, 2011-15
- Cooking sauces reclaim throne as biggest adspend category
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- Figure 14: Recorded above-the-line, online display and direct mail total advertising expenditure on world cuisines, by category, 2011-15
- Premier Foods brings colour to the kitchen with Sharwood's Stir Fry Melts
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- Figure 15: Total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on world cuisines, by top 10 advertisers (sorted by 2015), 2011-15
- AB World Foods relaunch TV ads
- General Mills steps up adspend for Old El Paso
- Marks & Spencer continues ‘Adventures In’ campaign
- Nielsen Media Research coverage
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- World cuisines hold wide appeal
- Chinese and Indian food is eaten near universally
- Interest in ethnic food not translating into specific occasions
- High interest in kits
- All-natural ethnic products appeal
- Consumers are hungry for guidance
- Authentic ingredients appeal
- Familiar cuisines enjoy strong flavour image
- Ethnic cuisines struggle on fun and value
Usage of Ethnic Foods
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- World cuisines hold wide appeal
- Millennials have the widest repertoires
- A wide range of cuisines for urban dwellers
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- Figure 16: Repertoire of usage of ethnic foods in the last three months, November 2015
- Chinese and Indian food is eaten near universally
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- Figure 17: Frequency of eating ethnic foods in the last three months, by cuisine type, November 2015
- Half of Brits eat Mexican, two in five eat Thai
- Broad interest in trying emerging cuisines
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- Figure 18: Usage of and interest in ethnic foods in the last three months, by cuisine type, November 2015
- Lack of familiarity is a key barrier to trial
Ethnic Food Occasions
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- Interest in trying ethnic food not translating into specific occasions
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- Figure 19: Occasions for which cooking ethnic cuisines would be considered for, November 2015
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- Figure 20: Further occasions for which cooking ethnic cuisines would be considered for, November 2015
- Chinese and Indian do better on weekends than weekdays
- Sharing meals with friends
- Ethnic foods struggle despite heritage of sharing
- Low ease of preparation a barrier
- More potential for ethnic food in family meals
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- Figure 21: Share of parents who would consider ethnic cuisines as a family meal, by cuisine, November 2015
- Scope for customisation should support Mexican
Interest in Ethnic Food Products
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- High interest in kits
- Spice kits for cooking sauces spark interest…
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- Figure 22: Interest in types of ethnic food product, November 2015
- …as do spice kits for dips
- Interest in a wider variety of meal kits
- Side dish kits can tap into growth of meal accompaniments
- All-natural ethnic products appeal
- ‘Factory fear’ drives interest in all-natural ethnic products
- All-natural claims adopted by many brands
- Two in five Londoners are interested in ethnic breakfast foods
Attitudes towards Ethnic Foods
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- Consumers are hungry for more guidance
- Familiarity is key to cooking new ethnic foods
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- Figure 23: Attitudes towards ethnic foods, November 2015
- Ready meals well placed to overcome lack of familiarity
- Retailers can support experimentation
- In-store advice resonates
- Co-locating ingredients shows wide appeal
- Cultural and religious celebrations have marketing potential
- Festivals prompt uptake of ethnic foods
- Scope beyond Chinese
- The Olympic effect
- Table sauces see use as ingredient
- Local ingredients and brands inspire authentic image
Perceptions of Selected World Cuisines
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- Familiar cuisines enjoy strong flavour image
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- Figure 24: Perceptions of selected world cuisines, November 2015
- Weak associations with fun
- Most cuisines struggle on value image
- Middle Eastern is unknown to many
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- Figure 25: Perceptions of selected world cuisines, November 2015
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- Figure 26: Further perceptions of selected world cuisines, November 2015
Appendix – Data Sources, Abbreviations and Supporting Information
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- Abbreviations
- Consumer research methodology
Appendix – Market Size and Forecast
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- Forecast methodology
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- Figure 27: Total UK retail value sales of Indian, Chinese and Mexican foods, 2010-20
- Figure 28: Best- and worst-case forecast for UK retail value sales of Indian, Chinese and Mexican foods, 2015-20
- Figure 29: UK retail value sales of Indian, Chinese and Mexican ready meals, 2010-20
- Figure 30: Best- and worst-case forecast for UK retail value sales of UK retail value sales of Indian, Chinese and Mexican ready meals, 2015-20
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- Figure 31: UK retail value sales of Indian, Chinese and Mexican cooking sauces, 2010-20
- Figure 32: Best- and worst-case forecast for UK retail value sales of UK retail value sales of Indian, Chinese and Mexican cooking sauces, 2015-20
- Figure 33: UK retail value sales of Indian, Chinese and Mexican accompaniments, 2010-20
- Figure 34: Best- and worst-case forecast for UK retail value sales of UK retail value sales of Indian, Chinese and Mexican accompaniments, 2015-20
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