Opinion: Multicultural marketing integral to the world foods sector in the UK
Food consumption choices today define people of different races and ethnicities across the world, more than possibly anything else. These are precursors to culture, in as much as they become culture itself and eventually also the agents of cultural change.
In the Britain of today, multicultural food choices and consumption patterns are also increasingly determining commerce in supermarkets and independent stores. We go to these stores for our weekly grocery shopping and as our palate becomes a melange of infinite influences, it is going to be reflected in the kinds of foods stocked in these stores. This defines the way in which the food business changes.
As the food industry itself changes in the country, it will have to increasingly communicate with the consumers. Agencies that specialise in multiculturalism and diversity understand these consumers on the basis of the differences of cultures and can play an important role in creating effective communication strategies, disseminated through various media channels to reach these consumers.
In the food industry, brands such as Patak’s and Tilda were launched much before multiculturalism became a norm in Britain. Now is the time for these brands to tap into the evolved needs of the palate and find a way into the ever evolving ethnic consumer base.
There is a huge potential for products targeted at specific consumer bases and this is only going to grow even further as a few dozen products focused on specific audiences are launched in the market every month.
With big business houses also increasing their product offerings in the industry, of which the launch of Savera from ARLA Foods is an example, the role and scope of multicultural marketing becomes even more important.
Here and Now 365 is one of the partners of the World Food Awards 2011. The World Food Awards, the flagship event of the World Foods Association, is now in its third year. Its mission is to bring together the world food market and become the leading voice of the UK world food industry.
Manish Tiwari
