Japanese and Korean cuisines dominate the Thai market, followed by Chinese, and new culinary experiences are a key driver for Thais exploring international foods.
Convenience is crucial for world cuisine innovation, with ready meals and instant foods offering strong potential due to their minimal preparation requirement. For this reason, products like condiments, sauces and pastes that aid in cooking exotic cuisines can also appeal.
Nutrition is another area for growth. While Japanese cuisine stands out for its health benefits, others lag behind. Food and drink brands can enhance appeal by focusing on authenticity and transparency, offering consumers a genuine experience through traditional recipes and quality sourcing.
This report outlines how brands can meet demand for world cuisines, and how Thais perceive different cuisines.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Penetration of international cuisines across the ready meals, instant foods, restaurants, snacks, and home cooking sub-categories
- Factors that drive consumption of international cuisines
- Important factors influencing choice of one international cuisine over another
- Factors consumers consider most important for international cuisines to be considered ‘authentic’
- Attribute associations of different cuisines
- Behaviours in choice of international cuisines
Cost-effective efficiency, nutrition and authenticity cues are key for world cuisines to gain a competitive, premium edge.
Rashmika Khanijou, Senior Analyst
Market Definitions
This report examines the Thai retail market for world cuisine foods. For the purpose of this report, world cuisine foods are defined as those beyond Thai cuisines.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- Mintel’s perspective
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Overview
- The outlook for world cuisines in Thailand
- Consumers’ shift in lifestyle warrants convenient meal options
- Unlock the potential of global cuisine products with affordable efficiency
- Japanese cuisine wins on the nutrition front, while others fall behind
- Graph 1: association of cuisines with ‘nutritious’, 2024
- Authenticity and ingredient transparency are key to building value and maintaining a competitive, premium edge
- Graph 2: select important factors influencing choice of international cuisines, by financial situation, 2024
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KEY TRENDS
- What you need to know
- Growing demand for efficient meal solutions
- Lifestyle shifts warrant convenient meal options
- Mintel Trend: Eating, Optimized
- World cuisine flavours are being used to elevate cost-effective formats
- Beyond health and naturalness, consumers perceive value in versatility
- Graph 3: value indicators in food & drink*, 2022
- Thai cooking sauce brand Roza tackles consumer pain points with its value-enhancing versatile stir-fry sauce
- The Sriracha effect: a Thai staple that can be used in many different dishes
- Demand for transparency in nutrition and sourcing
- Consumers rationalise the added nutrition in food and drink products
- Health-consciousness drives nutrition and health functionality as strong indicators of value
- Graph 4: product preference, by product category, 2023
- Traceability takes centre-stage
- Quest for new experiences and cultures
- The price of experience is growing: consumer desire for novel experiences sets expectations for flavour innovation
- Thais are open to kitchen experimentation
- Exploration of new foods, cuisines and culture play a big role in consumers’ travel behaviours
- Thais’ exploration of Japanese culture is going strong
- K-drama and Korean BBQ boom as part of the Korean culture trend in Thailand
- Thai premium convenience food brands are tapping into Korean media influence to drive innovation and consumer trials
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WHAT CONSUMERS WANT AND WHY
- What you need to know
- Exploring international cuisines in Thailand
- The pursuit of new culinary experiences fuels opportunities for world cuisine innovation in the Thai market
- Graph 5: top three factors driving consumption of international cuisines in the last six months, 2024
- Catering to each generation’s unique motivations is key to unlocking their interest in international cuisine
- Graph 6: select factors driving consumption of international cuisines in the last six months, by generation, 2024
- Japanese and Korean cuisines dominate the Thai market, with prominence of Chinese also notable
- Graph 7: consumption of different international cuisines in the past six months, 2024
- Understanding international cuisine perceptions is crucial in strategising product innovation
- Graph 8: attribute association with different regional cuisines, 2024
- Balancing familiarity and exoticism
- Graph 9: association of cuisines with select attributes, 2024
- Dial up exoticism of familiar Japanese cuisine with fusion blends of Western offerings
- Give Chinese cuisine an exotic twist by highlighting the umami flavour
- Encourage international flavours in everyday meals
- Maximise potential of world cuisine products with cost-effective efficiency
- A dive into the world cuisine opportunity in ready meals – convenient meal solutions for Thais
- Draw inspiration from the rising influence of Japanese and Korean cuisine in Thai ready meals
- Blend Korean flavours with modern Chinese cuisine: “dumplings reimagined” for the growing demand for ethnic fusion recipes
- The instant foods opportunity – trigger trial with world cuisine menus
- Korean beats Japanese in instant foods, with Gen Z women as key consumers
- Graph 10: consumption of Korean cuisine in instant foods in the past six months, by gender and age, 2024
- Instant food brands can cater to younger consumers’ desire for unique food experiences, drawing inspiration from trending Korean cuisine
- Elevate the home-cooking experience with exotic world cuisines designed for urban dwellers
- Opportunity to target urban dwellers with convenient, globally inspired condiments and seasonings
- Graph 11: select statements about international cuisine foods, by area, 2024
- Build on Japanese cuisine’s convenience with all-rounder cooking sauces positioned for a range of unique dishes
- Seasoning innovation to help consumers recreate restaurant-style dishes at home
- Offer part-prepared meals to make cooking world cuisines more approachable
- Make Indian cooking easier so Thais can enjoy exotic flavours effortlessly
- Graph 12: attribute association with select regional cuisines, 2024
- Offer kits to facilitate cooking of Indian tikka masala
- Build a competitive edge with a drive for nutrition
- Nutrition is a component of competitiveness
- Brands in convenient meal categories can launch healthy ranges inspired by world cuisines
- Highlight the health credentials of different world cuisines: “crafted for longevity”
- Japanese cuisine leads the way in nutrition, leaving other regions behind
- Graph 13: association of cuisines with ‘nutritious’, 2024
- Korean, Chinese and Indian cuisines are rich in flavour, but innovation could benefit from a stronger nutrition angle
- Graph 14: association of cuisines with select attributes, 2024
- Korean cuisine: highlight benefits of fermented ingredients
- Chinese cuisine: utilise traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) ingredients
- Indian cuisine: communicate the inherent rich flavors and healthfulness of Indian spices
- Indian cuisine: promote balanced nutrition through the concept of Indian Thali
- Vietnamese and Chinese cuisines lack sufficient nutrition for younger Thais
- Graph 15: association of select cuisines with ‘nutritious’ by generation, 2024
- Drive premiumisation with authenticity and transparency
- Authenticity and ingredient transparency are key to unlocking value and building a competitive, premium edge
- Graph 16: select important factors that influence choice of international cuisines, by financial situation, 2024
- The real deal: staying true to authentic recipes
- Combining healthfulness with authentic heritage
- True to tradition: cooking styles that define culture
- Use authentic cooking equipment to drive appeal
- Sourcing with integrity: the power of provenance
- Go bolder on origin story
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APPENDIX
- Report definition
- Consumer research methodology
- TURF analysis
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