In our previous blog, we examined some of the many causes of growing consumer demand for Asian products in their convenience stores, grocery stores, and supermarkets—causes including a rise in Asian immigration to Canada, culinary diplomacy, and the rise of ready-to-eat meal kits. We also laid out some strategies you can use to capitalize on today’s growth in Asian product demand and drive customers to your store. But that leaves another question unanswered:
What should you include on the shelves of your international products sections?
That’s the question we’ll tackle in this blog post. Let’s take a look at today’s popular Asian food products so you can expand your selection with the items your customers want.
Asian Shopping Trends in Canada: An Overview
Innova Market Insights found that in 2024, Canadian consumers had a hankering for East Asian sauces, seasonings, and toppings for their foods—consisting of 33% of new product launches across 2023 in that category.
Asian flavors have also led the way in ready meals—East Asian flavors consisted of 42% of new product launches. Research has shown that global consumers have gotten a taste for hot, spicy, and smoky flavors as well, and new interest in healthy food, especially plant-based food, is driving interest, particularly in Japanese and Korean cuisine.
As Westerners become more well-traveled and seek out tourism experiences in Asia, our tastes are expanding—and becoming more discerning. Not just any product will do—with home-cooked meals on the rise, consumers crave authentic, high-quality products that allow them to truly capture the experience of eating international foods in the comfort of their own homes.
Some of the most popular Asian food products on Canadian store shelves include:
Sauces and Condiments
Capturing the flavors of authentic international foods starts with sauce. Thai food just isn’t thai food without a dash of fish sauce, after all, and soy sauce is the key to that umami flavor found in so many traditional East and Southeast Asian dishes. Seasoning sauces like chili garlic sauce and hoisin sauce are in high demand as well.
Especially discerning consumers might be looking for specific types of sauce to make their recipes complete—for example, light soy sauce is a thin sauce commonly used for its flavor in marinades and seasoning, while dark soy sauce is thicker and more strongly flavored; the right soy sauce is essential for ensuring an authentic taste and texture.
Stock pantries across Canada with the essentials for authentic flavours and textures in ethnic cuisine:
Noodles and Ramen
Thirty years ago, few North American consumers had heard of ramen; today, it’s just one of many types of Asian noodles Western consumers have gotten a taste for—and not just the instant packaged stuff (though those are still extremely popular—tasty and convenient!).
Asian noodles come in all shapes and sizes, as Serious Eats outlines, each with its own texture and flavor experience. You wouldn’t want to use big, chewy udon noodles in a dish that calls for thin, firm soba, for example.
Some of the most popular noodle items in our inventory include:
- Mama® Brand Authentic Vietnamese-Style Pho
- Indomie® Chicken Curry Instant Noodles
- Thai World Import & Export Rice Sticks – perfect for authentic Pad See Ew
Beverages
Since their introduction to North America by Taiwanese immigrants in the 1990s, boba and bubble tea have become trendy beverages throughout the West. Young consumers are interested in the flavors of black, green, and oolong tea and the coconut milk used to sweeten these drinks. Coconut water has also become popular due to its health benefits.
Rising interest in Asian flavor profiles and the proliferation of Asian restaurants across Canada are also introducing consumers to beverages with fresh and exciting fruit flavors, such as lychee and guava.
Lychee and guava both boast unique flavors as well as possible health benefits—lychee is rich in vitamin C, and guava may help improve heart health and lower blood sugar levels. As such, the juices of these fruits—and the fruits themselves—are catching the eyes of health-conscious North American consumers.
- Foco Lychee Drink
- Foco Guava Drink
- Aroy-D Frozen Coconut Juice
- KOSA Coconut Water
- Real Thai Coconut Milk
Snacks and Sweets
Interest in healthy diets is driving a lot of consumer demand for Asian products, and that includes an interest in international foods that put a refreshing, light spin on snack foods and desserts, such as dried seaweed snacks and tapioca pearls. Broader flavour profiles such as seasoned anchovy, salted egg, durian, and taro tickle the adventurous palate.
- CTF Tapioca Pearls
- Aroy-D Thai Sticky Rice with Durian
- YACO Red Bean Ice Bar
- Crispy Chilli
- KOSA Hot and Spicy Crispy Seaweed
- Fried Seasoned Anchovy
Expanding Asian Food Aisles with Thai United
The more connected the world becomes, the more our cultures share with each other. Through migration, media exchanges, and online communities transcending world borders, we discover so many new things and new ways of thinking about things we’ve taken for granted. Today’s trends of popular Asian food products exemplify that better than anything else.
Thai United is your partner in capitalizing on today’s trends and demand for authentic international food products. As one of Canada’s leading distributors of international food products, we’re here to help grocery stores, convenience stores, and independent supermarkets across Canada stock shelves with Asian specialty items and ingredients that capitalize on Canadian tastes at unbeatable prices.
Browse our product inventory to find out what we have to offer and contact us today to get started.
