ORIENTAL FOOD REPORT

5.
JAPAN
The Rising Star
Specifically, Horizons says sushi is now – by some distance – the most commonly listed ‘pan-Asian’ dish on the country’s branded
and multiple-operator menus. It now accounts for one in four of all the pan-Asian menu listings, up from 14% two years ago, since
when the absolute number of sushi listings picked up by Horizons has more than doubled.
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Perhaps the best example of access driving demand is
Japanese food. But arguably it is work in progress. In the view
of Peter Harden, from Harden’s Guides, “Japanese food is
exciting consumers the most at present as there is much to
discover and the market is still fairly unsaturated.” Lots
of towns still lack a Japanese restaurant.
food consumers are aged 35 and over, and well over a third of
them are aged 45 and over.
It is also notable that four-out-of-five people who eat Japanese
nowadays are living outside London. Sushi may not have gone
fully mainstream yet, but it has moved way beyond a niche.
The 10 most commonly used pan-Asian dishes
Sushi has rapidly become the most commonly found dish.
The top 10 account for 56% of pan-Asian main course listings.
Currently, one-in-five adults now say
they like eating Japanese food. That
makes it the nation’s third most popular
Oriental cuisine – and as we noted
earlier, sushi features in our top five of
consumers’ favourite dishes.
To dispel any stereotypes, the UK’s
conversion to sushi is not female-driven. There are as many men
eating Japanese food nowadays as there are women. Neither is
it solely the preserve of the young: more than half of Japanese
Analysis of Horizons’ Menurama data commissioned for this
report shows how significant the rise of Japanese food in
general (and sushi in particular) has become. Across the 115
multiple and branded chains, pub groups and branded hotels
covered in Horizons’ dataset, Japan now accounts for 81% of
main courses listed. Just two years ago it accounted for 65%.
And this expanded share of presence on menus has largely
been at the expense of Chinese and Thai dishes.
Pan-Asian main course dish by country of cuisine
Shows the growth of Japanese food in the branded eating out sector.
Number of
listings 2015
% of total pan-Asian
Main listings 2015
% of total pan-Asian
Main listings 2013
1. Sushi 60 24% 14%
2. Chicken (Curry) 32 13% 8%
3. Soup & Noodles* 16 6% 4%
4. Chicken (Noodles) 9 4% 4%
5. Platter 8 3% 0%
6. Vegetable (Noodles) 4 2% 3%
7. Prawn (Noodles) 4 2% 2%
8. Salmon (Salad) 3 1% 3%
9. Chicken & Rice 3 1% 1%
10. Chicken (Salad) 2 1% 4%
*Japanese only
Source: Horizons
% breakdown of main courses listed
7%
1% Korean
Malaysian
10%
Chinese
1%
Indonesian
Chains are a significant factor here. “Credit is due to the
likes of Itsu and Wasabi who have played a huge part in
making Japanese food more accessible to Londoners – they
have managed to make the cuisine an everyday choice” –
according to Paul Hopper, founder of the Hop Vietnamese
‘street eats’ operation.
In 2013, Japanese accounted for 65%
of ‘pan-Asian’ dishes listed.
Its growth has largely been at the expense
of Chinese and Thai dishes, which in 2013
together accounted for 28% of listed main dishes.
81%
Japanese
Source: Horizons
The numbers prove it. The growth in the Oriental restaurant
sector we noted earlier is being driven most strongly by
Japanese restaurants, which have increased by 67% in the
last five years according to CGA Peach, now standing at more
than 550.
There can be no doubt that the British food
consumer is fast learning, and learning to
love, Japanese.
Wing Yip | Oriental Food Report 2016 Wing Yip | Oriental Food Report 2016