ETHNIC BLENDING INTO MAINSTREAM?

The majority of consumers polled (72%) for SN's consumer survey said they are purchasing ethnic foods at the same rate as they did two years ago.

d.

When evaluating their ethnic product purchases for use in food preparation, consumers responded similarly. According to the survey, 75% of consumers said their purchases of these products were unchanged over the past two years; 14% said their purchases have decreased, and 11% have increased.

But Scantrack data from ACNielsen, Schaumburg, Ill., tells a different story. Many categories of ethnic foods are experiencing remarkable sales growth. High-dollar categories -- such as tortilla chips, frozen pizza, pasta sauce and pasta -- each generated sales of over $1 billion for the 52 weeks ending March 9, 1996, achieving increases of 7.2%, 3.7%, 10% and 4.9%, respectively, over the same period in 1995.

Other smaller ethnic segments are also making big gains. Mexican sauces accounted for $769 million in sales, up 6.3% over last year; tortillas had sales of just over $591 million, a 9.6% increase; shelf-stable dry pasta dinners generated sales of roughly $50 million, a substantial growth of 87% over the previous year, and miscellaneous oriental foods with sales of just over $68 million grew by 17%, according to ACNielsen. When asked to respond to the results, retailers agreed that the consumers surveyed did not accurately judge of the amount of ethnic foods they customarily purchase.

"I know our numbers are up for both Mexican and Chinese, but Italian has been a staple for so long," said Dave Weaver, grocery buyer at Festival Foods, Onalaska, Wis. The entire international foods arena will continue to grow as the country diversifies, Weaver added.

"There's so many people coming into this country. It just continues to grow, in my opinion," said Alan Stone, vice president of sale and marketing for Great Valu Supermarkets, Mechanicsville, Va.

Diverse Dishes

More Americans are beginning to purchase ethnic foods, though most contend that their purchases of ethnic foods have not changed over the past two years, according to SN's consumer survey.

Consumer purchases of ethnic foods since 1994:

Remained the same72%

Increased15%

Decreased13%

Consumer purchases of ethnic products for everyday food preparation since 1994:

Remained the same75%

Decreased14%

Increased11%

Source: 1996 SN Consumer survey by America's Research Group, Charleston, S.C.