For the longest time, the Indian curry has been Britain’s long-standing favorite ethnic cuisine. It has been knocked off the top spot by Chinese food. Can you believe that?

A Senior Market Analyst at Mintel said, “The current economic climate seems to be impacting on Brits seeking to recreate the restaurant experience at home. The initial establishment of popular favorites Chinese and Indian cuisine have led to a broadening of the market and increased popularity of different types of ethnic food.”

According to the new Mintel report on the ethnic food market, about eighty percent of people surveyed said that Chinese is their favorite, while Indian was a close second with 71% of the vote.
As a combined total, Indian and Chinese now account for a massive seventy percent of the ethnic food market. The popularity of Mexican food is increasing rapidly and the Mexican market has seen twenty percent growth over the last two years.

The sales of Indian cuisine in terms of purchasing power surpassed Chinese food by 189 million in the last year alone. This suggests that Britains are favor Indian cuisine to cook at home in the kitchen. This is significant because the recession is encouraging people to eat at home instead of restaurants, and about sixty percent of Brits agree that if eating at home, it is cheaper to cook than to get carryout.

With stir-fry Chinese food sales up thirty-seven percent, Chinese food home-cooking is already seeing growth, over the last two years and cooking sauces up thirteen percent, Indian ready meals have seen a slump but retail accompaniments are up about eleven percent. Mexican food has seen a massive boost over the same period, with an increase in value in all retail sectors. Stir-fry tend to be seen as healthy meal solutions that are also convenient while kitchen utensils, such as pastes and spices, give consumers the freedom to tailor their meals to their taste, which they cannot do with ready meals.

by Mintel