Product Development Solutions: Out of Africa

When Humphrey Bogart closed the 1942 Academy Award winning movie “Casablanca” with, “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” the line became a Hollywood classic. And while this memorable film and its dialogue remain popular, the Moroccan city for which the movie was named is attracting attention for a new reason.

“Mediterranean cuisine has gained notoriety due to the healthful connotation of the fresh flavors and foods that are its staples,” says Jason Gronlund, executive chef at McIlhenny Co./Tabasco Brand Products, Avery Island, La. Chefs increasingly are interested in the native cuisines of Morocco and other Southern European and Northern African nations that border the Mediterranean.

Notes Gronlund, “The areas of the Mediterranean that influence this cuisine reach from Spain and Catalonia to Turkey around the North African Coast to Tunisia and Morocco.”

In fact, industry experts say Mediterranean cuisine is popping up more frequently in refrigerated and frozen entrees, snacks and appetizers as well as on foodservice menus nationwide.

According to one report, ethnic foods now account for more than 12 percent of all retail food sales. In its summer 2008 publication, United States Ethnic Food Market, the Canadian Agri-Food Exporters say this proportion is growing annually by 5 percent. And more than half (52 percent) of American consumers are expected to be ethnic food consumers by the year 2050. Further, by the year 2015, the American ethnic food market will be worth an estimated $112.5 billion.