East Meets West
By John J. Pierce

Archer Farms multigrain tortillas obviously appeal to trendy Anglos at least as much as Mexican-Americans.

Thai and Indian as well as Chinese specialties appearing in store brands, although Mexican foods and sauces remain largest ethnic segment.

Ethnic food in the United States has traditionally meant Mexican and Chinese. Thai is a relative newcomer, whereas Italian has been around so long it isn’t thought of as ethnic. Now Indian food, too, has come to store brands in America, with sauces, curries and even frozen dinners.

What Information Resources, Inc. (IRI) still calls “Oriental food” probably doesn’t count Indian food, or even Thai, as opposed to Chinese and Japanese. IRI shows sales of less than $5 million each for private label in all but soy sauce ($6.5 million) and miscellaneous sauces and marinades ($6.9 million).

Travels of India, a new line just launched at Wegmans, Rochester, NY, is a pioneering venture in store brand Indian meals for the mainstream chain, which had introduced Thai dinners in June and expanded its pierogi line in July. It has carried store brand egg rolls and the like for some years now.

“Come on, try something new and exciting for a quick, easy and delicious meal!” Wegmans urged in the October New Products page at its website. “With the flavors of India, like ginger, cinnamon, coriander, and mint, you’ll wake up your taste buds to a whole new world.”

“Bringing the Exotic to You,” as packaging copy puts it, are Butter Chicken and Chicken Korma-the first two entries in the line. Chicken Korma (a korma is a mild curry dish from Northern India) consists of seasoned chicken pieces in a coconut almond sauce with basmati rice. Earlier this year, here’s how Wegmans heralded another ethnic rollout:

Love Thai take-out? Spice up your next meal without going anywhere but your freezer. Check out these new offerings:

• Thai Style Red Curry Chicken,
• Thai Style Green Curry Shrimp
• Pad Thai with Shrimp

Green Curry Shrimp blends shrimp with red bell peppers and spiced coconut sauce on a bed of jasmine rice. Wegmans had prepared the way, in a sense, by introducing red and green Thai curry sauces last year.

Pursuing a different strategy, Harris Teeter, Matthews, NC, has come out with Thai rice noodle bowls like Hot & Sour under the H.T. Traders brand. As Harris Teeter explains on the back of the package:
In Thailand, noodle houses are as popular as diners in America. They are simple places where average, hard-working people can get a quick, tasty meal. In this spirit we wanted to pay homage to “Thai fast food” ... you’ll want to keep a few bowls at home or office for any time you want a quick Thai pick me up.

Red, green and Panang curry pastes were already available under the H.T. Traders brand. At Target, Minneapolis, MN, meanwhile, there are red (onion, garlic and paprika) and yellow (garlic, coconut and onion) rice and sauce dishes, not to mention the expanded Ming Tsai Blue Ginger line of Asian foods like sesame almond noodles and black bean rice (Private Label, September 2007).

Target is also ahead of the pack when it comes to Mexican foods, which are still by far the largest segment of the ethnic foods market. As is the case with most Mexican fare in private label, its Archer Farms products target mainstream tastes, as witness multigrain tortillas.

Corn or wheat flour tortillas are enough for Mexicans, but the Archer Farms tortillas offer nine grains–cracked wheat, barley, flax, sesame seed, corn, millet, oats, rye and brown rice. “Their versatility will have you reaching for them again and again,” Target says. “Heat them up and fold in your preferred filling, then top with salsa, guacamole or sour cream to create delicious tacos. Or, roll one around your favorite sandwich ingredients for a wrap that’s full of flavor.”

Speaking of guacamole, a guacamole seasoning mix is one of the other Mexican specialties in the Archer Farms line, as are such other unique items as Chile Citrus marinade and grill sauce (“Also makes a great enchilada sauce.”) and Roasted Poblano Pepper cooking sauce. Mexican side dishes include Black Beans, Cilantro Lime Rice, Spicy Refried Beans and Spanish Brown Rice. In ready-mix main dishes, there’s Spicy Southwestern Tamale Pie.

Mexican Foods Gain

Sales growth remains strong in standard Mexican foods and sauces tracked by IRI. Hard and soft tortillas and taco kits are up 6.9% to $96.8 million, refried beans 3.3% to $21 million, and salsa 5.0% to $96.6 million. Picante and taco sauces are down, but miscellaneous sauces are up 20% to $4.4 million.
That last figure may be influenced by specialty salsas like Double Cooked and Corn & Chile (no tomatoes) varieties at Trader Joe’s, Monrovia, CA, as well as the lineup at Target. But mainline chains are also expanding their Mexican lines. You can find Peach-Pineapple salsa under the Safeway Select brand at Safeway, Pleasanton, CA, for example; and Wal-Mart, Bentonville, AR, goes that one better with Peach Pineapple Chipotle under the Sam’s Choice brand.

Kroger, Cincinnati, OH, appeals to Mexican-American as well as Anglo consumers with bilingual (and resealable) packaging for taco-size and burrito size tortillas. This isn’t always the case with ethnic foods–Price Chopper, Schenectady, NY, keeps its private label Mexican foods and sauces (Coyote Joe’s sub-brand) in a separate section, away from the Hispanic foods aisle. With a few exceptions, Hispanic private labels aren’t aimed at Hispanics.

One of the exceptions is Comida Sabrosa, distributed by C&S Wholesale, Keene, NH. Inherited from the former Fleming Companies, it includes staples like corn husks, hominy, frijoles, corn strips, pork skins and pork cracklins as well as a broad range of other items-some familiar to Anglos (picante and taco sauces), others not (ancho chili and guajillo peppers). Another, aimed more at the Puerto Rican community, is Mi Casa at Ahold USA, Boston, MA.

Pierogies, a form of filled dumpling from Poland, have very low profile compared to Mexican and even Asian food, and yet there is loyal market for them–a market that has been tapped by, among others. Wegmans. “If you’re a pierogie fan, it is your lucky month,” the chain boasted in July, “We’ve just come out with three insanely good varieties you must have on hand: Mushroom, Spinach and Feta, and Sour Cream and Chive.”

Recommended suppliers

• American Euro Foods, Brookfield, CT, 203-740-7387
• Italian Trade Commission, Chicago, IL, 312-670-4360
• Li Destri Foods, Inc., Fort Lee, NJ , 201-944-1233
• Joseph Campione Inc., Oak Creek, WI, 414-761-8944

Products described or shown in this article are not necessarily available from these suppliers. For more suppliers see current Private Label Directory & Buyer’s Guide.