2007 was a year of growth and change at The Culinary Edge. New employees, an office opening in New York City and some truly innovative project work expanded our horizons during the last 12 months.
It was also the year that The Culinary Edge went international. Most of us have spent time working overseas: China, Japan, Spain, UK, Ireland, France and Australia have been homes to one or other of us and 2007 was a year in which business expansion leveraged our team's deep international expertise.
This edition of our newsletter highlights the meta trends we uncovered in our overseas business this year, through observing similarities in the way locals behaved, shopped, blogged and ate in otherwise disparate cities.
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Emerging Markets
It is enlightening to visit a city when faced with a specific business challenge and a mission rather than as a tourist. Digging in to life as a local with the purpose of making recommendations forces a level of insight that is more meaningful than the average tourist trip. In recent food trend tours to China and Mexico the enormous purchasing and growing sophistication of the consumers in these expanding manufacturing economies was clear.
There were some surprising similarities in these two diverse markets. Just as in the US, convenience is the mantra of the moment. Grocery retailers are moving into foodservice and c-stores are looking more like delis and cafés by the week. Hot food programs, sushi made to order, sandwiches ready-made and held hot were all on display, even in local chains and independently owned one-off stores.
Shanghai was the venue for the 2007 "BioFach China," an organic food convention promoting cooperation between Chinese and overseas organic food enterprises. Despite a spate of recent food supply chain glitches, China is a significant producer of organic food and conference organizers say the business is set to grow by 30% annually for the next three to five years. Last year, Euromonitor International valued the Chinese health and wellness packaged foods business at nearly US $ 4.7 billion.
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Chinese organic produce available at the family-run DeRunWu Organic & Natural Store where an 8-lb cloth sack filled with ‘whatever’s fresh and ready’ from the farm is sold at a fixed price of about $11 |
Green, Green, Green
As if you needed another reminder that green and sustainable questions are on everyone's minds, this song is being sung around the world. Whether it is by Natural Lawson's, the organic and healthful version of the established Japanese convenience store (see sidebar for details), or by Chinese consumers showing the same concerns over product and food safety that we are, 'green' is on everyone's mind. In China's recent past, many people did not understand the concept of vegetarianism or what possible reasons there could be to espouse it, but on our most recent fall trip our man-in-the-street interviews revealed that many consumers are so concerned about the sourcing, production methods and treatment of meat and poultry in China, that they were giving it up.
Local and sustainable purchasing options were on everyone's minds and solar panels were cropping up all over roof-tops across the city. Strategic thinkers in the US food industry with supplier relationships in China are already coming to the table to talk about gaining the competitive edge through a greener supply chain. That is a clear sign that the market is beginning to respond to the greater demand for 'green' foods that is felt both in China's export business and within the domestic Chinese marketplace. Maybe that investment in a green line of products has more far reaching applications than you thought.
The Beverage Boom
This year at Anuga in Cologne, Germany The Culinary Edge was working hard at being the eyes and ears on the ground for all of our clients. We soon learned there that the beverage boom is global indeed. Innovation was bountiful and creativity overflowing. Read how an enterprising young company from Australia is blazing a trail with a product that could change the face of the beverage and personal care market in our sidebar this month.
A product we took note of, which has less wide-reaching consequences, is a beverage hailing from Singapore that we came across recently. Two whimsical soda lines named "Anything" and "Whatever" make up the offering and the secret to them is that the contents remain a secret. Pop open a can and you will find one of 5 sodas inside (different ones for each line), but you never know what you have until you take a sip. Not for everyone, but category first-movers never are.
Buy Local
From Mos Burger in Tokyo sourcing only locally farmed ingredients, to Chef Conor’s recent meal in Kaui of fish caught “about 3 miles that way” local was talk of the town wherever we went. Our experience in Germany with the traditions of local farm-raised meats and vegetables offered at both grocers and restaurants alike describes what truly what makes Europe special, but also highlights the direction that consumers everywhere are looking. From Los Angeles to London and Tokyo, the desire to eat locally and support area agriculture has only built momentum. The exciting news to us, though, is that there are multi-unit concepts today facing up to this challenge. From Legal Seafoods local fresh program to Wolfgang Puck’s WELL initiative and Kaiser Permanente’s Healthy Picks program, chain groups and foodservice concerns are beginning to figure out how to be flexible in their sourcing and meet this growing consumer demand. The opportunities to differentiate food offerings in this arena are tremendous.
These trends are not just observations but a way for you to connect the dots to the future that we uncovered through our international project work this year. The future is always thought-provoking and if you want to find out more, visit www.theculinaryedge.com
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