Speciality Food Magazine - May 2025

6 @specialityfood The survey of 300 independent retailers found that 83% have begun to use AI, with a third using it every day, but 10% of respondents cited a lack of understanding, worries about cost and a lack of trust as the biggest barriers to them adopting the tool. 18% said that they were worried about losing the ‘personal touch’ their business benefits from, while 14% were concerned about becoming overly dependent on the technology. However, those using AI on a regular basis claimed that they were saving around two hours Just a third of indies adopting AI, despite potential benefits T he names Longdan and Oseyo might not mean much to many readers of this magazine, but I suspect they're worth paying a little more attention to, as they are a big part of one of the major food trends. I am thinking of our love affair with international flavours and discovering and adopting dishes from around the world. News broke last week that Longdan is opening a 110,000-square-foot store in Glasgow, and Osyeo is planning to open yet another store, this time in Manchester. While Oseyo is distinctly Korean, Longdan offers a broader range of Asian foods; both cater to British foodies who increasingly love international cuisine, showing just how mainstream the global food trend really is. For too long, we have looked to the major retailers’ ‘world food aisles’ to see where the next trend in international foods is coming from. However, if you want to look into the future, one should look more closely at Asian supermarkets across the country, which offer an ever-growing set of amazing ingredients that allow foodies to play in their kitchens. If you wander around some of the newer chains, like Oseye, you'll see a retail experience that is distinctly modern and designed for British foodies, regardless of their ethnicity. There are several reasons why Asian food is a trend that is here to stay, and they revolve around the most significant trend out there: a post-Covid awareness of our mortality. Healthy eating is one of the biggest topics in the world of food, and yet, nutritious food can often be bland, and the miracle supplements costly and more rooted in science than in taste. The sauces and flavourings used in Asian foods elevate the likes of broccoli and beans to dishes we can all get excited about. I love making smashed cucumbers with garlic, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and a few chilli flakes. Tenderstem broccoli with oyster sauce and garlic makes a great side dish to accompany a piece of fish. Aubergine is endlessly versatile with any number of sauces and is a great way to use up leftover sauces OLIVER LLOYD CONSULTANT “International inspiration” and chilli oils. Ultimately, many consumers see Asian food as healthier than its Western counterparts, and items like kimchi and miso reinforce this view. To understand how things could unfold, you only need to look at the stories being told by TikTok influencer and low-waste chef Max La Manna about miso. Inspired by the founder of Zoe, Dr Tim Spector, he suggested that miso is a great way to add a delicious, salty kick to your favourite meals, whether that's a soup, stew or pasta sauce. The argument goes that stock cubes are not always the healthiest option and can contain many unknown ingredients, while miso only contains three ingredients to make: soybeans, salt, and a type of fermented rice called koji. If you walk down a Tesco aisle, you will find a broad range of Korean products from Korean brands. Restaurants like Itsu are launching cooking sauces and new ways to create their food at home in all manner of retailers. Other areas where you can see this trend are in the ever-expanding noodle offerings of supermarkets, which are increasingly similar to those found in Asian supermarkets. Noodles are perceived as super quick and tasty (although not particularly healthy) and are loved by younger generations. This is a sector that is completely ignored in specialist retail but there are so many brands, particularly in the US, that are trying to reinvent this sector and make it ‘cleaner’ and healthier. The chilli aisles of specialist retailers are okay, but many underestimate foodies' love of spice and the rapid growth in this space. New brands emerge all the time in this space, with eye-catching premium packaging and often eye-watering in-mouth experiences! There is an opportunity for retailers to offer a broader range of products inspired by Asian cuisines. One of my favourite finds at a recent food show was a product called All the Auties, which is working to re-imagine the world of paneer with new flavours and cleaner processing. It tasted delicious and would look amazing on the shelf. That is not to say that stocking these kinds of items isn’t without risk, as you need to tell people how to use them. But it ultimately is what people are looking for and is often more exciting than something that would look at home in a farm shop of 10 years ago. There is an opportunity for retailers to offer a broader range of products inspired by Asian cuisines in time each day, as well as £80 in daily costs. Customer service enquiries, marketing and research are AI’s most common uses in the independent retail sphere. Charlotte Broadbent, UK general manager at Faire, said, “Despite tough economic conditions, many of the independent retailers we work with are embracing AI to save time, cut costs, and compete with bigger retailers. What’s exciting is that technology – and particularly some of the AI driven tools we offer our retailers – are helping to level the playing field, giving small businesses access to the same Open Farm Sunday is back for 2025 Sunday 8th June sees the return of Open Farm Sunday – the annual open day for the farming industry. On that day, hundreds of farm gates will be opened to the public to offer a valuable opportunity to experience the world of farming, recognise its value in our everyday lives, and shine a light on the role of sustainability in the food industry. The national initiative is managed by LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming). For more information on how to get involved visit farmsunday.org According to recent research by Faire, while a third of the UK’s independent retailers are utilising AI for the benefit of their business, one in 10 are reluctant to adopt the sometimes controversial technology efficiencies and insights as much larger competitors.” “We’re also seeing some resistance to AI, particularly among shop owners who don’t fully understand or trust the technology, or worry about losing many of the things that make independent shops so unique and important to our local communities. Of course, not every shop is there yet. Some are still wary, and that’s understandable because this tech is new. But the ones leaning in are showing how adaptable and innovative small businesses can be. I’m confident we’ll see even more creative uses of AI that allow retailers and small business owners to focus on what they do best: curating brilliant products and creating memorable customer experiences.”