Supermarket Perimeter - November 2019 - 15

MIKHAYLOVSKIY, FOMAA - STOCK.ADOBE.COM

emand for ethnic cuisines will remain strong
in 2020, but expect more regional twists on
current ethnic favorites - and on one that's
an old industry standard.
Maeve Webster, president of consultancy Menu
Matters, says she'll be interested to see how Israeli and
other Middle Eastern cuisine will evolve in 2020.
"I think that while it's certainly not new - we've been
talking about it for the last year or two - it still has
momentum behind it, and I think we'll see a broader
array of ﬂavors, ingredients and formats move into the
mainstream."
Hummus has been around forever, but consumers
can expect to see more mashups featuring hummus and

Webster says. Typically, Americans are interested in the
cuisines of countries they want to visit. With the volatility
in the Middle East, that is not the case for the majority of
Americans today.
"It's a little bit of an aberration," she says. "I think it's
interesting that it is growing despite all that."
One reason for the growth is likely an increasing
number of Middle Easterners moving to the U.S.,
Webster says.
What Amy Marks-McGee, founder of consultancy
Trendincite LLC, calls "modern Israeli cuisine" is big now.
Pioneered by Michael Solomonov of Zahav restaurant
in Philadelphia, which opened in 2008, as well as by
chefs like Eyal Shani, Meir Adoni and Assaf Granit,

other variations on the popular item, Webster predicts.
Middle Eastern spices in general also should see an
uptick going forward, she says. One in particular that's
expected to pop in 2020 is sumac.
"I think there's a lot to be done with sumac and spices
in general," she says. "They're so versatile and can be
applied in so many different ways."
Also look for continued growth in the use of dukkah,
which Webster loves for its versatility, ranging from
savory to sweet to traditional Middle Eastern dishes to
regional adaptations.
Expect to see that word "regional" a lot again in 2020,
says Suzy Badaracco, president of consultancy Culinary
Tides Inc.
"Absolutely stick to regional specialties," Badaracco
recommends. "You can get a little more experimental with cuisines we are familiar with such as Italy or
Mexico. When you're promoting cuisines that are less
familiar you should look to that country's national dishes
or comfort dishes so they are more approachable."
Look in particular, Badaracco says, for regional takes
on South American and Central American cuisine in the
New Year.
"It can be very authentic or reﬂect whatever ingredients are used in a certain region," she says. "For instance,
you could have a dish in the American South that
includes dukkah but uses pecans instead of pistachios.
Dukkah is really easy to apply, it's visually appealing and
it has great texture."
Another Middle Eastern ﬂavor, cardamom, is hardly
new on the scene. But it will make a big splash in new
ways in 2020, Webster predicts.
"Cardamom, for a very long time, has been an underleveraged ﬂavor, particularly in the U.S. It's far more familiar in not only Middle Eastern but also Nordic cuisine."
It's a ﬂavor, Webster says, that people are familiar with
without knowing they're familiar with it. Its broad appeal
covers a wide range of savory and sweet applications,
including indulgent baked goods. The continued popularity of Middle Eastern foods is somewhat of a paradox,

it's making a big splash, she says.
In addition, Marks-McGee says, hummus
and tahini are slowly making inroads on store
shelves, and she thinks falafel may be next.
"Falafels (which are made with chickpeas) ﬁt
well with the plant-based trend, and they are a popular
Israeli street food, which also ﬁts well with the trend to
portable street food," she says.

Other points east
Flavor and cuisine trends for San Diego-based Barons
Market often begin in the chain's highly curated frozen
foods section, says Rachel Shemirani, Barons' senior vice
president.
In the second half of 2019, Barons has seen increased
demand for Korean, Moroccan and Middle Eastern ﬂavors, Shemirani says.
"We bring in a lot of spices just to see what will ﬂy,"
she says. "To my pleasant surprise, spices like sumac
and za'atar are selling very well. We've found that our
customers are looking for more ethnic spices."
While Mexican, Chinese and Italian cuisines may have
dominated the ethnic retail market 20 years ago, consumers today, Shemirani adds, are "going a little deeper."
"Moroccan, Turkish, Vietnamese. Bone broth is a big
seller for us. What we're excited to see is what vendors
are starting to do with (the different trends."
Varietal fruits, heirlooms, hybrids, butter and cream
and dark chocolate will be among the trending ﬂavors
heading into 2020, Badaracco says.
Retailers would also be wise to keep their eyes on
global historical blends and spices like sumac, tahini and
za atar; fermented and pickled foods; global cheeses,
ﬂorals and botanicals; and pandan, tamarind and alcohol-infused foods.
When it comes to the cuisines, meanwhile, Badaracco
expects Eastern Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and
Russian foods to be in high demand.
Many trending foods come with health claims,
Badaracco says, but for them to work, they have to be
www.supermarketperimeter.com

Falafel will be among
the foods beneﬁting
from a surge in demand
for Middle Eastern
foods in 2020.

NOVEMBER 2019 - 15

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Supermarket Perimeter - November 2019

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