The list of ethnic produce finding its way into the mainstream market - okra, mooli, karela, fenugreek, callaloo, lychees and Scotch Bonnett peppers, to name a few - is getting longer all the time.
Sales of ethnic foods in the UK have passed the £1 billion mark, according to a report from Foods from Britain, and growth is outpacing the overall food and drinks sector.
The market for ethnic produce is evolving and, though the element of the unknown can act as both a barrier and a magnet as the fresh produce industry searches for something new, the products are becoming increasingly accessible across all communities.
Jay Thakrar, director of wholesaler Jay Shipley Exotics at Western International Market, says “ethnic” has become a redundant term for fresh produce. “The products have become more mainstream, both in the wholesale and retail markets,” he says. “Five years ago, ‘ethnic’ would have been the perfect description, but this is not the case now. It makes more sense to call it exotic imported produce.”
The wholesaler supplies a range of outlets with ethnic produce, from barrow boys and independent retailers to the foodservice sector, and, according to Thakrar, this shows the scope of demand and how it has grown. “It’s not just ethnic businesses that we supply,” he says. “We supply British shopkeepers in Buckinghamshire and Virginia Water, both very English areas. The fusion is happening all over the UK, from Harlesden to Harrods.
“The world is a smaller place now, and London is a very diverse city - a lot of people have money to spend and want to experiment,” he adds.
New varieties of ethnic fresh produce are coming through all the time, and Thakrar says that even after 24 years in the business, he is still discovering products. The products are more widely available than they have ever been before, he adds, and this has enabled the growth of the market, with TV shows and the foodservice sector leading the way. “Some of the best restaurants are using the products for new flavours, and consumers want to try them at home,” he says. “But more influential are the TV shows, which have moved ethnic foods into the primetime slots.”
Zeenat Anjari, who put together the Recipe for a Greener Curry report for the London Food Link, says demand for ethnic produce stretches across the UK. “People are interested in food and raw fresh produce, they want to talk about where their food has come from and how to prepare it. Some of the ethnic shops are like a vegetable zoo to them,” she says.
But the UK fresh produce industry is not taking advantage of the supply chain opportunities that exist in meeting the demands of urban ethnic minorities, she adds, and the opportunities for growers to align supplies with different ethnic or religious festivals, such as Diwali or Passover, should not be overlooked.
“This is not a niche market - one in four Londoners is an ethnic minority,” Anjari says. “There are ethnic communities that are well established and tight-knit, and demand is growing, with fixed peaks and troughs a feature of the market.”
UK growers have started to capitalise on the changing market but, according to Anjari, this is subject to the communities they serve. “Progress is being made, especially in the Midlands, where there are some ethnic minority wholesalers who own land or are in partnership with growers to provide what the urban community demands, such as methi, coriander and specific varieties of spinach,” she says. “These relationships do not seem to exist in the south of England, where there is a lack of contact with local growers and a lack of awareness [among them] of the demands of these urban communities.”
The London Food Link, which is funded by Defra, the Regional Development Fund and the London Development Agency, aims to get more local, organic and fairly traded fresh produce into the capital and, according to Anjari, this can be achieved by hitting new markets, including the ethnic offer. “It’s all about connecting different groups of people together,” says Anjari. “A lot of the work involved concerns business supply chains across the UK.”
The London Food Link is working with wholesalers to build relationships with local growers. “Ethnic supply chains are strong and loyal - many of the Bengali restaurants on Brick Lane have their own wholesalers in New Spitalfields market, and they won’t go elsewhere - so we have to get local food into the supply chain by introducing it to those suppliers, rather than encouraging them to change suppliers,” says Anjari.
Her research has shown that freshness and authenticity are key drivers to the ethnic market, rather than green issues, but that there is no bias towards product grown in the native country.
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is ploughing forward with a pioneering new project to help regional growers tap into the global market. The West Midlands regional office at Telford, led by senior policy adviser Andrew Richards, is supporting a project to break new ground by growing speciality herbs and other fresh produce for international consumers.
The NFU is working with the Asian business community and other local groups to set up a farmer-controlled co-operative to market produce globally through an existing grower, after a study by Harper Adams University confirmed the potential for a pilot scheme. “The rapidly developing interest by consumers in speciality foods and the increasing demand for locally grown foods of known provenance provided the spur for more detailed market research to be undertaken,” Richards says.
JK Fresh Produce, which grows herbs and vegetables and already has well established routes to market in the Midlands and elsewhere, will form the central hub in its Cosford site. The facilities, including a new packhouse development and transport infrastructure, will become the centre for the pilot scheme.
“Under the pilot scheme, new growers will be invited to produce these crops and deliver them into the central packhouse for distribution through the existing transport system,” says Richards. “Where necessary, growers will be offered advice and support with the cultivation requirements of new crops.
“Growers from across the region, including those from Worcestershire and the Vale of Evesham, interested in taking part in the pilot scheme were invited to a meeting to discuss it in more detail,” he adds. “But it became clear that most of the interest was from growers in close proximity to Cosford and the central packhouse.
“It is likely that initially the project will operate on a small-scale basis with a limited number of new growers becoming involved. This will enable other growers, including those from Herefordshire and Worcestershire, to monitor how the project is working and to consider if the concept could assist their own business development plans.”
A number of organisations have been actively involved in developing the project alongside the NFU and JK Fresh, including English Food and Farming Partnerships, AWM, representatives from the Asian business community and the West Midlands Business Council.
“The West Midlands has a big Asian population, and we believe there is scope to grow speciality products in this area to help meet demand, which means they will be produced locally, cutting down food miles and reducing the need for imports,” says Richards. “We have worked very closely with the Asian business community, including shop keepers and restaurants in the Birmingham area, and it has brought the whole scheme together. This is a great business opportunity.”
Richards says the project will tap into consumer demand. “People want to know where their food has come from, and that it is fresh and safe,” he says. “They would rather buy product that has been grown 10 miles down the road, than have it brought in from East Africa or South America. The issue of provenance is here to stay, and we have to build on it.”
The project will start growing crops in the early spring of next year, Richards says, but what is produced will depend on what wholesalers want and whether it can be grown in the UK.
“We are opening up a market that has enormous potential and, if we can get it going, it will be a major opportunity for everyone involved,” he adds. “We have to make sure what we are doing is absolutely sustainable, and we have to reach the top standards, because we are competing against those who know exactly what they are doing.”
UK retailers are now stepping up to build on the opportunities thrown up by the ethnic evolution. Asda launched a project to grow all the ingredients needed for a good curry in the UK in March. The supermarket chain is testing new growing techniques and setting aside land in the hope of producing commercial crops of Asian fresh produce and spices.
The initiative could cut imports, reduce air miles and transport costs, as well as provide UK growers with a new market, says fresh produce technologist Chris Wibberly. “We are on the verge of producing the ultimate home-grown curry. Instead of going for an Indian, people will genuinely be able to say they are going for a British,” he says.
Trials will concentrate on growing doodhi, mooli, baby augergines and kerala in temperature-controlled glasshouses in Lancashire and Lincolnshire, and plans to grow okra and mustard leaf, both key curry ingredients, are underway. The project is expected to produce results in three years.
The campaign would mean that every ingredient in a chicken tikka masala - a favourite for Brits - would be grown in the UK. “Hundreds of thousands of curries are eaten across the country every week - it’s the official British dish,” Wibberley says. “Developing home-grown ingredients makes perfect economic sense. It would finally give us true ownership of our favourite food - and it may create a new, uniquely British favourite in the process.”
The entrance of ethnic produce into the mainstream market is more than just a passing fad, Anjari says, and she is confident that UK producers and suppliers will continue to build on their offer. “I don’t just think this is fashion,” she says. “That is what people said about Mediterranean vegetables in the 1970s, but now they are everywhere.
“The ethnic market would have been seized by mainstream growers sooner if there had been more connection with the London market, but we are slowly getting there,” she adds.
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