Don’t Call It an ‘Ethnic’ Grocery Store
June 13, 2024 | 1 min to read
As H Mart, Patel Brothers, and 99 Ranch expand, they significantly influence American eating habits and the grocery landscape. Notably, last year featured the sale of half a billion packets of Shin Ramyun, a spicy Korean instant noodle that's now a household staple in diverse settings, from college dorms to viral TikTok clips. This transformation contrasts starkly with 30 years ago when such products were nearly nonexistent in mainstream grocery stores.
As Asian groceries like H Mart, Patel Brothers and 99 Ranch expand, they are reshaping American eating habits, and the American grocery market.
Last year, Americans bought half a billion packets of Shin Ramyun, the spicy, beefy Korean instant noodle. The bold red-and-black packaging feels inescapable: It’s a staple of college dorm rooms, bodegas, middle-of-the-country Walmarts and viral TikTok videos.
But 30 years ago, the noodles were largely unknown in the United States. No grocery store would stock them, said Kevin Chang, the director of marketing for Nongshim, Shin Ramyun’s parent company. Except, that is, for a few small Korean grocers, including a fledgling shop in Woodside, Queens, called H Mart.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: The New York Times