Interest in world foods in the UK continues unabated. Research shows 7 out of 10 shoppers who buy from the world food aisle say they enjoy the experience, making it even more popular than the wine section.
This is despite 29% of world food shoppers claiming they find the world food aisles rather confusing.
Well KTC has the answer. It offers a comprehensive range of products that are clearly packaged and with great shelf stand out. It’s also a onestop shop for category managers who can buy KTC’s vast product portfolio, Sea Isle’s popular Caribbean product range and Suncrest soft drinks, all from the same supplier – KTC.
KTC (Edibles) Ltd, founded in 1971, is probably best known in the UK as the largest family owned manufacturer and distributor of high quality cooking oils and fats, supplying over 250 million litres a year. However, KTC offers in excess of 3,000 lines, from tinned pulses, tomatoes through to gram flour and spices. KTC is a formidable supplier to the grocery trade and has adaptable ingredients that hit the mark.
Paresh Mehta, Commercial Director, KTC comments: “We’re a world food brand in every sense of the word. Our whole business was set up to serve the ethnic communities of the UK, providing good quality foodstuffs and ingredients to help make authentic cuisines from around the globe. KTC is a well known brand amongst the Asian and Caribbean community in the UK because these discerning shoppers know it’s a name they can trust and now we’re seeing brand recognition from mainstream shoppers too.”
Food trends are obviously always moving and shifting and KTC’s philosophy is to provide a broad spectrum of ingredients, all authentic and sourced from around the world that allows the grocery trade to react to consumer demand.
This is shown for instance in the huge wave in popularity amongst the mainstream health conscious shopper for coconut oil, with lots of food companies scrabbling to get this product, whereas KTC has been supplying it in the UK for more than twenty years, long before the recent surge in sales. KTC offers a broad range of coconut oils including new to the market KTC Organic Virgin Coconut Oil.
If you really want to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s hot in world foods for 2016 KTC say you can’t ignore pulses. The United Nations has dubbed 2016 as the International Year of Pulses, which means this grain legume could potentially surpass quinoa and kale in popularity. Paresh says: “We offer a vast array of tinned and dried pulses. A staple of South Asian cuisine they also feature heavily in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking. They’re packed with protein, high in fibre and are a fantastic way to create a tasty supper dish for the whole family that costs next to nothing – anything from hummus and dal to spicy Spanish chick peas.”
KTC is also seeing an increased demand for gram flour from mainstream shoppers, which is probably due to more people looking for gluten free products. Made from ground chick peas and yellow split pleas, KTC Gram Flour is gluten free and is great to coat vegetables for pakoras or to make flatbreads.
The move away from processed foods and an increased demand for authenticity has also seen resurgence in butter ghee sales for KTC. There’s been a lot of media attention saying that butter ghee is in fact healthier than processed alternatives. Ghee is great as it’s suitable for cooking at high temperatures and appeals to those who are trying to cook authentic curries from scratch.
Asked to discuss plans for the future, Paresh says: “KTC still sees one of its major roles as providing good quality and affordable ingredients to Britain’s diverse ethnic communities but with the introduction of speciality products the business is strongly placed to further increase its popularity with mainstream shoppers too.”
Tel: 0121 505 9223
Email: info@ktc-edibles.co.uk
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