UNION, N.J., May 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — As Americans approach a second summer with travel precautions in place, a new YouGov survey commissioned by Deep Indian Kitchen of over 2,000 US adults, unveils that consumers are using their weekly grocery trips to explore aisles and cuisines in new ways. The demand for ready-made frozen foods and authentic international flavors is soaring and continues to grow as the need for convenience, flavor variety and wanderlust satisfaction have become top priorities. Amongst these desires, Indian is a standout cuisine, with new authentic brands in the frozen aisle skyrocketing. In fact, recent data shows** sales velocity of brands with Indian origin are growing at more than 5X the rate of category averages since the pandemic began one year ago.
According to the survey, the #2 most craved dish, amongst top international dishes tested, is Chicken Tikka Masala. So what’s behind the cravings? Americans who eat Indian Food most often credit its delicious taste (76%) and its variety of new flavors that deliver a change of pace from their normal routine (60%).
However, it is surprising that about half of those surveyed (49%) only eat indian food a few times a year or less . So what drives this disconnect and why is Indian just starting to grow so quickly now?
68% of Indian food consumers surveyed say at least one of the following factors have been barriers to home consumption, including:
- Lack of authentic options
- Difficult to find and buy
- Hard to prepare well
- Unfamiliar with ingredients, recipes or cooking techniques
- Restaurants make it better
Now that consumers are discovering scratch-made, restaurant-quality Indian experiences in the frozen aisle, Indian food is growing – quickly. As exploration continues instore and online, and friends share their newfound favorite dishes with one another, its popularity is expected to take off. 62% of surveyed Americans say they look to recommendations from friends to inform international food choices – an incredible number, further magnified by consumer desire to share unique, exciting and delicious foodie images on social media.
With the fandom over Chicken Tikka Masala, new availability, new omni-channel shopping behaviors and the prevalence of social sharing, it’s likely that the frozen Indian cuisine trend is just getting started.
About the study:
YouGov, a global public opinion and data company, conducted a survey for Deep Indian Kitchen that uncovered consumers’ cravings for authentic Indian cuisine and their feelings towards recreating these dishes on their own.
*All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,432 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 10th – 12th March 2021, and 12th-14th May 2021. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all US adults (aged 18+).
**IRI figures reflect frozen entrees, snacks and appetizer sales unit trends over the last 52 weeks ending 3.21.21
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SOURCE Deep Indian Kitchen
