ORIENTAL FOOD REPORT

2.
13
THE CENTRAL ROLE
OF THE RESTAURANT
How and where do people eat Oriental cuisines?
The role of the restaurant is critical to all. Only one in three users are currently cooking
Chinese /Thai at home. Supermarkets are playing a bigger role for Japanese/sushi.
A recurring theme from our expert contributors is the
accessibility of Oriental food, in terms of number of outlets
and value for money. Data from CGA Peach suggests there
are well over 4,000 Chinese, Thai and Japanese restaurants in
the UK, around 16% of all the country’s restaurants, and they
are growing in number. The total number of Chinese, Thai
and Japanese restaurants has largely kept pace with the rapid
overall rate of restaurant openings in the last five years, both
growing at around 20% in that time.
Chinese
Takeaways/delivery Restaurants Supermarket ready meals Cook from scratch at home
Thai
Oriental restaurant numbers are growing steadily
52%
75%
30%
72%
648 NET added Chinese/Thai/Japanese restaurants in that period (+18%).
Strongest growth is in the Japanese market.
37%
37%
27%
38%
4160
4342
Japanese (e.g sushi)
Malaysian
3964
330
493
551
Japanese
Thai
Chinese
18%
17%
44%
68%
22%
20%
34%
69%
Indonesian
Vietnamese
2010 2014 2015
21%
19%
69%
80%
2015 count % change since 2010
Chinese 2730 +12%
Japanese 551 +67%
Thai 1061 +16%
These three markets
account for around one
in six of all restaurants
Korean
19%
34%
13%
24%
Source: CGA Peach
18%
80%
As Kanada Kazuhiro, founder of Kanada-
Ya ramen restaurant, puts it, “the UK
has proven that it’s open to trying new
dishes and cuisines – the vast amount of
Oriental restaurants in the country really
does speak for itself.”
On the value issue, Kazuhiro also notes
that, “you don’t have to pay a huge
amount for great food in Oriental cuisine,
which makes it accessible for everyone”
– and our research confirms that for most
Oriental cuisines, the restaurant is the
most likely place where people will be
eating them.
For example, more than 70% of those
who eat Thai food do so at restaurants,
compared to only 30% who buy it from
a takeaway or have it delivered, and 55%
who cook it from scratch at home, or
buy ready meals.
18%
23%
Source: online survey, sample 3051 adults, Populus data solutions, November 2015
Wing Yip | Oriental Food Report 2016 Wing Yip | Oriental Food Report 2016