Asian Style Foods In Canada

 

Canadians spend $6 billion annually on Asian style foods. (p.1)
Asian restaurants                         $3.5 (billions)
Mainstream retail grocery          $1.5
Asian specialty grocery               $1.0
               Total                               $6.0 billions
 

• Of the $1.5 billion spent at mainstream retail grocery stores, an estimated $440 million is spent on “inherently Asian style packaged goods”. i.e. Asian frozen dinners, entrees, egg rolls, spring rolls, potstickers, etc. (p.3, 7)
   

• Estimated 5% of 31.7 million population is Asian origin (increasing at a compound rate of 9% over last 5 years). (p.1)

• $1.2 billion, or 50% of grocery store purchases of Asian foods are made by non-Asians which are generated in large part by restaurants. Therefore, non-Asians spend about 3% of their grocery budget on Asian food purchases and/or food to prepare Asian style dishes. (p.2)
   

• Opportunity: Most westerners find Asian specialty stores intimidating. (p.9)
  
  Trends:
   

• Immigrants from Asia purchase more and more of their basic food supplies from mainstream supermarkets as they become more “westernized” and are unable to find certain “western” products in Asian specialty stores. (p.8)
   

• All-you-can-eat buffet restaurants specializing in pan fried dumplings. (p.6)
   

• Many specialty stores are offering prepared and/or quick frozen foods, such as dim sum, to capitalize on the trend towards foods that deliver taste, convenience, and ease of use. (p.9)
   

• Opportunity: “ Within the mainstream supermarket channel, the primary consumer of Asian-style products is the non-Asian. This consumer is on the lookout for Asian-style foods which provide a novel taste, experience, but at the same time quick and easy to prepare. These needs are not being met by the products currently available in the typical mainstream supermarket. Judging by the products which are available in the typical supermarket, either producers have not been very daring and innovative in their product development efforts, or they have been unsuccessful in getting such products listed by the major supermarket chains.” (p.11)
   

• “Where are the Gyoza dumplings?” (p.11)
  
  (*All data, excerpts, and statistical information have been provided by the USDA Gain Report #CA2124, 10/23/2002.)