With the rising influence of Asian cuisine on North American buying habits, Fresh Direct Produce, based in Vancouver, added more products popular in Asian dishes. “You can see consumers are moving more toward Asian tastes,” said Judith Lu of Fresh Direct. “Whether or not you eat Asian food for lunch or dinner, you see ingredients from Asian cuisines in mainstream dishes.” Fresh Direct carries over 600 products sourced from over 26 countries, and the number of items that are typically used in Asian cuisine has increased, according to Lu, because of the increasing number of people in North America that have a background in Asia as well as the adoption of Asian food by the mainstream.
“Imports from Asia have increased because those products have entered mainstream markets,” explained Lu. “We used to supply mom and pop stores, but our purchase volumes have increased because we introduced Asian items into mainstream stores.” Some of those products include sugar peas, snap peas, pealed garlic and bok choy that come in an Asian vegetable kit. Another kit Fresh Direct sells includes Thai herbs and chili peppers that consumers can use to quickly make an Asian curry.
“Demand for these products will keep growing,” said Lu. “The mainstream is more accepting of Asian flavors, and that will only add more volume to our business.”
For more information:
Judith Lu
Fresh Direct Produce
+1 604 255 1330