Asian grocery stores are no longer niche businesses. They are a cultural phenomenon.
Shoppers at Patel Brothers, a supermarket in Queens, on May 30, 2024. New locations of Patel Brothers are designed to look more like a Whole Foods, with glass windows and expansive aisles.Last year, Americans bought a half a billion packets of Shin Ramyun, the spicy, beefy Korean instant noodle. The bold red-and-black packaging feels inescapable: It’s a staple of college dorm rooms, bodegas, middle-of-the-country Walmarts and viral TikTok videos.
Now, those same shops have transformed into sleekly designed chains with in-store roti machines, mobile ordering apps and locations across the country — all aiming to serve the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States and the millions of others who now crave flavors like Shin Ramyun, chili crisp, chaat masala and chai.
“They are the vanguard of mainstreaming,” said Errol Schweizer, who was the vice president of grocery at Whole Foods Market from 2009-16. Miso, ghee, turmeric, soy sauce — their journeys to becoming widely available pantry staples all began with an Asian grocer. Swetal Patel, a partner at Patel Brothers, said that as the chain has expanded its audience — he estimates that 20% to 25% of shoppers are now non-South Asian — stores now look more like a Whole Foods, with wide aisles and glass windows. “It is not your mom and dad’s Indian grocery store anymore.”
South Asians will always be the priority, said Ranade, even as store design or product packaging might evolve.
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