Our neighbors to the south might think exclusively about poutine, maple syrup, back bacon, and ketchup chips when they think of Canadian food—but of course, our palates and tastes are just as varied and diverse as anybody else’s. In particular, Asian foods are seeing a massive rise in popularity on restaurant menus and household dinner tables across Canada today.
What’s driving this newdemand for Asian food products in Canada—and how can grocers and retailers make sure they have high-quality products in stock to adapt to customers’ changing tastes? That’s what we’re here to find out. Join us as we explore how to master Canada’s Asian food trends in greater detail.
Understanding the Growing Canadian Appetite for Asian Foods
There’s no one reason why foods and ingredients from Asia are becoming more in demand for grocers, supermarkets, and restaurant suppliers. Rather, today’s Asian food trends are driven by a wide range of factors, from immigration to government policies. Some include:
Culinary Diplomacy
Over the past 20 years, Thai restaurants in particular have become ubiquitous throughout the world. This is actually a part of the Thai government’s gastro diplomacy program! In 2002, Thailand launched its “Global Thai” program, which was designed to subsidize Thai nationals abroad to open restaurants and supply them with the ingredients needed for Thai food. Subsequent programs even developed standards for authentic recipes! Thai food quickly became a major niche across the West, and Thailand’s approach to culinary diplomacy doubled the number of Thai restaurants worldwide.
Thailand isn’t the only Asian country with a culinary take on cultural diplomacy, either.China, India, Malaysia, Cambodia, Taiwan, Singapore, and Japan have their own culinary diplomacy programs as well.
From pad see ew to sashimi to bao dumplings, give people a taste of fresh, exciting dishes from places abroad, and they’ll start wanting to not only visit more ethnic restaurants but also incorporate those same ingredients into their cooking at home—driving demand for Asian food sections in grocery stores and driving business to local Asian grocery stores.
Asian Immigration
A significant portion of the increased demand for authentic, high quality Asian food products comes from—unsurprisingly—Asian demand for products in Canada. From 2016 to 2021,Asian countries accounted for 60% of the top source countries for immigrants to Canada, according to Statistique Canada. This makes Asians Canada’s fastest-growing population group, with almost half specifically coming from East and Southeast Asia and driving Asian grocery trends. Here in Canada, Indian and Chinese food is particularly common due in part to immigration demographics.
When people immigrate to Canada, they bring their tastes and recipes from home with them. This drives demand for local specialty grocers to set up business and stock foods and ingredients not native to Canada—from tofu to galangal root to fish sauce and soy sauce to gochujang chili paste. Immigration also leads to the development of new recipes bridging the cultural divide—take, for example,Canadian chop suey.
Growing Interest in Ready-to-Eat Meals
Though there’s the classic stereotype of the college student who mainly subsists on cost-effective, delicious instant ramen, ready-to-eat meals that can be prepared and enjoyed in minutes have caught on across many demographics. TheCanadian ready-to-eat market is experiencing steady growth in demand for affordable, convenient meal options that reflect our growing diverse cultural landscape.
The popularity of instant ramen, microwave miso soup or soba noodle packages, fried rice kits, and flash-frozen entrees and appetizers isn’t hard to understand. Balancing work and home responsibilities makes people hungry for meals that can fill the stomach, delight the palate, and meet nutritional needs with minimal prep time and minimal costs, and Asian ready-to-eat meals accomplish all three.Asian dishes are the most in-demand among ready meals in Canada, especially since they can more easily meet vegetarian and vegan tastes.
All that is to say that Canadian customers are excited and expecting to find more Asian food in their grocery stores and restaurants. What can you do to capitalize on these trends?
How to Get Ahead of Canadian Asian Food Trends
Convenience stores, independent supermarkets, and grocery stores that don’t move on modern Canadians’ changing tastes are likely to fall behind their competition. To make sure customers flock to you for the foods and ingredients they’ve gotten a taste for, you can:
Curate Specialized Product Selections
Create a dedicated Asian foods section in your store that you can stock with staple ingredients like soy sauce, fish sauce, gochujang, miso paste, curry pastes, and specialty noodles, alongside pre-packaged ready-to-eat Asian meal kits for convenience-oriented customers. Highlight key products with visually appealing signage and in-store displays.
Partner with Asian Suppliers
Ensure authenticity in your Asian food offerings by sourcing your products directly from trusted distributors, wholesalers, and specialty brands. Partnering with local Asian grocers or wholesalers also, of course, gives back to your local economy.
You can also form partnerships with local Asian community organizations to host events and collaborate on promotions, especially around culturally relevant holidays—strengthening both your community ties and your global food bona fides.
Educate Your Customers
Try offering free samples or provide cooking demonstrations using the ingredients you have in stock. You can also stock your Asian foods section with recipes and other informational material to encourage Canadians who haven’t yet dipped their toes into today’s Asian food trends to give it a shot. The more your customers know how to use and prepare the ingredients they see on your shelves, the more confident they’ll be about their buying decisions!
These are just a few of the strategies you can use to position yourself as a go-to destination for Asian food enthusiasts among your customer base.
Source the Best Asian Food Products with Thai United
Before you can stock global ingredients on your store shelves and ride the wave of Canada’s Asian food trends, you have to source them. That’s where we come in. Since our founding in 1994, we’ve striven to become a leading wholesale supplier of quality foods from global sources for retailers and restaurants across Canada.
We import and distributeeverything from instant noodles to specialty sauces—genuine, authentic products from reputable suppliers across East and Southeast Asia. With over 29 years of experience in the industry, reliable inventory and supply chain management practices, and an unrivaled commitment to customer satisfaction, we’re here to offer products you can trust at affordable prices.
Contact us today and keep your shelves stocked with vibrant, flavourful food products your customers will love.
