In terms of retailers, Sainsbury has outperformed the market and now represents 27% of market spend. Growth is partly due to its ranging of Thai foods. Ethnic meal accompaniments are also performing well. Within accompaniments naan bread is now worth £57m and growing 16%. The naan bread category is 65% own label and growing 18%. Sharwood's is the dominant brand in naan bread and is in growth. Pride Valley has more than doubled its branded naan bread in the last two years, and is also developing its own label ranges. Other accompaniments performing well are prawn crackers and poppadums with growth of 52% and 25%. The chilled premium bite-sized snacks market is worth £79m, up 19%. The Indian sector is driving this with 25% growth due to the abundance of Indian snack selections. The cooking sauce market growth of 7% has been the result of the oriental and Tex-Mex ranges, up 12% and 10% respectively. Both ethnic varieties have attracted more households, with Tex-Mex attracting an extra 1.3 million households in the latest year. Overall the ethnic foods retail markets are growing and likely to continue with the top reason for choosing ethnic food being because it is a favourite' and treat'. Further evidence of the indulgent' nature of consumption is the frequency with which it is consumed ­ 1.9 times a fortnight. It's also a key end of the week treat' with one third eaten on Friday or Saturday night; 20% of Chinese is eaten on a Saturday. Ethnic food is growing fast in terms of households eating and the frequency with which they eat. Consumption is greatest among adults under 65 and also children 11-16. 23% of ethnic foods are cooked/heated in the microwave representing over half of frozen ready meals. {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}

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