Tesco has unveiled a pan-Asian party food range ahead of Christmas in response to shopper trends.
The range – which includes Finest prawn bao buns (£4.50/8x32g); Finest chicken, prawn & vegetable rainbow gyoza (£4.50/9x20g), salmon teriyaki skewers (£4/8x35g) and battered crispy sushi rolls (£2.50/10x20g) – aims to offer shoppers “more exciting ways to impress their guests this festive season”, according to the retailer.
Tesco said it had “seen shoppers turn away from traditional British party food classics” in favour of snacks inspired by Thai, Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese cuisines in recent months.
It cited Mintel data, which showed pan-Asian cuisines had grown by nearly 17% in the 12 months to June 2023.
This shift in shopper behaviour meant that sushi had replaced the smoked salmon sandwich as “Britain’s favourite premium lunchtime treat”, according to Tesco.
“Since the beginning of the year, when Tesco launched its £5 Finest meal deal, sushi sales have rocketed by 90%,” it added.
Tesco party food buyer Natalie Linden said: “This year we’ve seen really strong growth for our Finest meal deal, which includes tasty treats like poke bowls, sushi boxes, gyozas and bao buns.
“This has really inspired our team of chefs to develop a range of mini-bite versions of some of the most popular pan-Asian dishes which we think will help create a real buzz at any festive party this year.”
It comes after Waitrose launched a 26-strong Japanese-style own-label range, called Japan Menyu, in September.
The range – which spans ready meals, sides, snacks and centrepieces – was developed in response to “significant growth in customer demand for Japanese foods”, according to Waitrose.
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