Artisanal foods, celebrity chefs, 'vintage' food: Asia's grocery likes and dislikes

The research, conducted in January, interviewed nearly 20,000 respondents in 26 countries globally. In Asia, the study included Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea. (Please see the associated infographic gallery for detailed findings.)

Comparing global averages to the Asia-Pacific average appears to yield some conclusions. For example, Asia-Pacific consumers are more likely than the global average to buy packaged food branded by a famous chef. And consumers in Asia are more adventurous than the global average, with 48 per cent interested in food from different regions or cultures, compared to a global average of 45 per cent. 

However, there are exceptions and dramatic differences when the results are viewed on a country-by-country basis. For example, while interest in food by famous chefs hits 37 per cent in India, consumers in Indonesia and South Korea have very little interest in such branding (15 and 11 per cent, respectively). And while 61 per cent in Australia, 55 per cent in China and 57 per cent in Indonesia are interested in food from other regions and cultures, only 28 per cent in Japan and 20 per cent in South Korea expressed that preference.

Artisanal foods, defined as "packaged foods which have a handmade quality", appeal to 61 per cent of consumers in China and Indonesia, but only 18 per cent in South Korea. Meanwhile, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia express strong interest in retro or 'vintage' foods (defined as "foods that remind you of earlier times, like the foods you grew up with"), but Japan and South Korea are less interested.

"The soaring concern in food safety in China is probably driving the interest in artisanal foods," Ipsos researchers noted. "Especially with industrial processes increasing the chance of unsafe additions, or lower quality ingredients or simply being seen to have had been prepared with less care."

If one conclusion jumps out of the study, it's that South Korea is something of an outlier in terms of food preferences. In addition to being less interested in famous chefs, food from other cultures, artisanal foods, and retro foods (as mentioned above), South Korean consumers also don't care about restaurant-branded foods (only 19 per cent said they were interested, versus an Asia-Pacific average of 31 per cent). So what do South Koreans like? Do-it-yourself kits, which 55 per cent in the country favour, compared with the APAC average of 40 per cent and a low of 28 per cent in Japan.

The Ipsos authors point out that distribution of food from other cultures is not well developed beyond major cities in South Korea. Furthermore, they note that despite the increasingly urban lifestyle of South Koreans, home-cooking is still a large part of the culture. So ready-to-cook food kits are a natural fit, because they not only satisfy the desire for home cooking but also help people cope with busy schedules.