IN FOCUS: Which Cuisine is Proving Popular with Brits and Which Have Room to Grow?
Chinese reigns as the nation’s favourite world cuisine in both restaurants and as takeaway.
Research undertaken by Mintel shows that 78% of British had eaten Chinese at home in the three months prior to the survey. Even more interestingly, 12% consume Chinese at least once a week. This level of consumption trumps Indian, which had been eaten by 74% over the same period, and increasingly popular Mexican, which had been consumed by 48% of people.
The in-depth research also showed that more than three quarters of ethnic (defined as cuisines outside Europe, Russia, Australasia and North America) restaurant or takeaway users have visited a Chinese restaurant or takeaway. Perhaps surprisingly, this even trumps Indian food, where 72% had visited a restaurant or takeaway, and Thai, which had been visited by 40% of respondents.
Speaking of the survey findings, Richard Ford, Senior Food Analyst at Mintel said “The ethnic restaurant and takeaway market holds real potential, the popularity of both Chinese and Indian takeaways and restaurants reflecting the cuisines’ long-established position in the UK.”
The report also revealed which regions of the UK have the highest proportion of Chinese food consumers. Perhaps unsurprisingly London topped the list with 80% of people having visited a Chinese restaurant, though the other regions weren’t far behind, with Scotland and the East Midlands coming in at 78%, Yorkshire and Humberside at 77%, the North West, South East and East Anglia at 76%, Wales at 75%, and the West Midlands at 70%.
And the good news doesn’t end there, with Chinese also performing well on the ‘healthy’ scale. Only 14% of respondents who visited a Chinese restaurant or takeaway said they thought that the food at these venues was unhealthy, although this figure did drop to 12% for takeaways eaten from ethnic restaurants overall.
The survey will make happy reading for the likes of Hotcha, the Chinese QSR chain, and indicate the potential for growth for such chains in a market traditionally dominated by smaller, independent operators.
But if Chinese has already been taken to the nation’s hearts, what cuisines could be the next big thing?
According to Mintel, the research shows that Malaysian and Caribbean could be the ones to watch. This is because of the difference between those who had tried a specific ethnic cuisine and those who would be interested in trying it. For instance, while only 14% of Brits have ever visited a Caribbean restaurant or takeaway, 58% would be interested in doing so. Similarly, while only 9% of people had visited a Malaysian venue, again 58% would be interested in doing so.
Speaking of this, Richard Ford says “Whilst Malaysian and Caribbean cuisines have little in common... they both enthuse consumers... That a large proportion of people would be interested in visiting a Caribbean restaurant is likely to partly stem from the cuisine’s visibility in recent years... Strong interest in Malaysian cuisine similarly comes as the cuisine has been gaining greater visibility in foodservice and retail”.
The full report can be found here
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