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ETHINIC FOOD INDUSTRY
There is no doubt that there is a market place for ethnic foods. How does a company position themselves into this market? Brandt (1999[Brandt, L.A. 1999March. Ethnic flavors. Ride a heat wave. Prepared Foods 168(3): 41.]) reports that ethnic foods have a 6-7% growth a year. The ethnic food catagory is about 7% of the food industry or $49.35 billion. A food company that furnishes an ingredient used in a number of catagories of ethnicity has marketing advantages. Several primary catagories of ingredients which cross such a line on ethnicity are
- increasing heat levels (chili and hot spices)
- increasing authentic flavors/cuisine
Distinctive Cuisines of the World (In Consuming Passions (Farb, P. and G. Armelagos. Consuming Passions. The Anthropology of Eating pp. 185.)
| JAPANESE: soy sauce, saki, and sugar (sometimes also ginger root) |
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KOREAN: soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, and sesame seeds |
INDONESIAN: soy sauce, garlic, molasses, and peanuts |
SZECHWAN: soy sauce, brandied wine, ginger root plus sugar for "sweet" dishes, vingar for "sour", peppers for "hot" |
CANTON CHINESE: soy sauce, brandied wine, ginger root, peanut oil (sometimes also sugar and garlic) |
INDIAN: a basic curry mixture containing garlic, cumin, ginger, turmeric, coriander, cardamom, and pepper (plus mustard seed, saffron, cloves, coconut, or vinegar, depending upon whether the particular dish is "sweet,""sour,"or "hot") |
IRANIAN: yogurt with dill or mint |
MIDDLE EASTERN: lemon, parsley, and garlic |
GREEK: lemon and oregano (plus sometimes dill or cinnamon) |
SOUTHERN ITALIAN AND SOUTHERN FRENCH: olive oil, tomato, and a mixture of herbs (thyme, basil, oregano, often with garlic) |
FRENCH: butter, cream wine, chicken or meat stock (often with the addition of cheese, herbs, and mustard) |
EAST EUROPEAN JEWISH: chicken or goose fat with onions |
RUSSIAN AND SCANDIANAVIAN: sour cream with dill or caraway |
CENTRAL AMERICAN: lime, chili peppers, and coriander (or garlic, scallion) |
MEXICAN: tomato, chili peppers, and cumin |
However, food history and cultural aspects are more difficult to remain true to the facts. The study of the past does facilitate the industry in developing products of the future.
Updated: Sunday, June 1, 2008.
