Expert Talks about Tapping the Asian Market

As you look for market niches for your fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, check out the rapidly growing U.S. Asian population, particularly if your plant is anywhere near some of the larger metropolitan areas.

The U.S. Asian population is expanding at a robust rate, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. There were 11.9 million Asians living in this country as of the 2000 census. Approximately 10.2 million of those were pure Asians, while 1.7 million were Asians mixed with other races.
Between 1990 and 2000, the U.S. Asian population jumped 48 percent, dispersing into previously unfamiliar regions and outpacing all racial and ethnic groups except Latinos. The decade before (between 1980 and 1990), the Asian population virtually exploded, doubling from 3,466,847 to 6,908,638—a 99 percent increase.

The U.S. Asian population includes citizens from a mix of countries, including China, Korea, India, Pakistan, The Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Chinese Americans account for 2.4 million of the U.S. Asian total. The Chinese population grew 48 percent between the 1990 and 2000 censuses, while the Korean and Filipino populations also showed significant increases, 35 and 31.5 percent, respectively.
California, New York and Hawaii are home to over half of the nation’s Asian population, although there also are growing Asian populations in Minnesota, Indiana and other states. Los Angeles County reported 1,105,752 Asians in the 2000, according to the census report.
Outside of Honolulu, Daly City, Calif., is the largest city in the U.S. with a majority Asian population. As of the 2000 census, nearly 54 percent of Daly City residents were of Asian stock.

What kinds of fresh-cut fruit and vegetable products are of most interest to this important market? To provide some expertise, I visited with Mai Pham, the chef/owner of Sacramento, California’s popular Lemon Grass Restaurant.

A Vietnamese refugee, Pham is the author of Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table (HarperCollins, Aug. 2001). Her first book, The Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking (Prima, 1996) was featured on National Public Radio “Fresh Air” and in Martha Stewart Living and ArtCulinaire magazines. Pham is also a food columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle and contributes regularly to the Los Angeles Times, Fine Cooking and other major publications. In addition, she teaches at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone and leads educational culinary tours to Southeast Asia.

Q: How significant is the Asian market?
It’s huge, particularly in some areas. Here in California, there are a handful of players in the Asian grocery segment. Ranch 99 is one of the top. These are huge stores, often double the size of a typical Safeway. Many Asian families are large, and, if you were to visit one of these stores, you would see people coming out pushing carts literally oozing products. Many take home $100, $200 and $300 orders.

Q: What types of fruits and vegetables are preferred?
In addition to lettuces, leafy greens are very popular. I’m talking about such things as mustard greens, bok choy, choy sum and gai lan. Sugar snap peas, tara root, mushrooms, lychee, moqua, loquat, Chinese eggplant, napa cabbage, gobo root, lo bok, daikon radishes, gai choi, bean sprouts, celery, water chestnuts, sliced bamboo shoots and Chinese okra are all popular. There are several kinds of bok choy, including Shanghi, green and baby. Some are big, some small, some skinny and some thick. Under the mustards there is Chinese broccoli.
Asians like squash, and there are a wide variety of types used. Asians like loufa squash, zucchini, fuzzy melons and opo, a type of squash that looks like a fuzzy melon but doesn’t have the fuzz. Kabocha-type squash are very big in our cuisine and are one of my favorite vegetables. They are similar to butternut squash but are a lot creamier and sweeter. We also use a lot of onions, leeks, shallots and chives.
On the fruit side, definitely pineapple because we use pineapple to cook with; it is used in our soups and in our stir fry. We also like Asian pears, winter melons, apples and many other fruits.

Q: What pre-cut products would do best in this market?
Right now, I’m trying to spec product for my version of Chinese chicken salad. It is basically pre-cut cabbage and a mustard mix. Chinese salads are very popular in the U.S. Unfortunately, the last time we tried sourcing ingredients from a pre-cut vendor the quality was not there. Once the bag had been opened, the contents were slimy within a day. In my line of work developing food products, one of the things I’m looking to do is to create a dynamite prepacked kit of Chinese chicken salad mix, complete with dressing, roasted peanuts and crunchy rice noodle toppings. I think this would be a great product for both foodservice and retail.

Q: Providing such challenges can be overcome, what other pre-cut products might fit?
As I said, definitely the salad mixes as well as pre-cut vegetable mixes for stir fry applications. But, it is important to understand that the style of cuts also is important. In Asian cuisine, green beans, for example, are always cut length-wise, difficult to do with a machine. When done right, such cuts are eloquent although the green beans themselves are fragile. If an operator can figure this out, there definitely would be a market there.

In Vietnam and throughout Asia, green beans are always cut length-wise. Visit the marketplaces and you will see women, standing over a bucket or plastic bag, cutting the beans in front of waiting customers. There is no counter. It is all done in the palm of their hands. Asian consumers soak the thinner cuts—they tend to curl up—and use them in salads. Thicker cut beans end up as an ingredient in stir fry.

Q: Which vegetables do you believe could be successfully machine cut?
Carrots, onions, chayote and zucchini squash are definitely items people use. And if someone can figure out how to do leafy greens, that would be a real bonus.

Q: What would it take to entice you to use more fresh-cut produce?
Convince me that the product is really fresh. There can be problems with browning which leads me to wonder how long the product has been in the system. Processors and distributors must come up with ways to deliver product quicker and ensure longer shelf life. The product also needs to be handled more carefully en route. Produce is fragile and often get beat up.

Q: If you have what you consider to be a promising product for Asian consumers, how do you access the market?
Through foodservice vendors such as Sysco and U.S. Foodservice. Frequently, they demonstrate the use of new items. Another avenue is to exhibit at food shows and attend food conference put on by groups such as the Culinary Institute of America.

Q: Are there real opportunities for more pre-cut fruits and vegetables?
This is a very exciting time for produce because so much attention is being focused on eating healthy. There are enormous opportunities ahead for foods that are healthy, organic and convenient. Certainly, convenience is way up there. Labor costs are an issue, and most restaurants are looking for ways to outsource more of their needs.

To contact Mai Pham, call (916) 486-4891 or (916) 486-1627 or check her Web site: www.lemongrassrestaurant.com.



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