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Indian shopping in the US
Rain or shine, strong economy or a
slowdown, expatriate Indians still want their ‘Made in India’ goods, observes
Mohan Babu
Towards the end of
1994, preparing to travel abroad for the first time, along with my other
apprehensions I was wondering what I should carry with me. Among other things,
my boss who was on-site suggested that I carry with me some of my favourite
music, Indian condiments and other ingredients. At that time I did not realise
that the world was shrinking, and in the global village, one can find just about
any kind of Indian spices and ingredients! Indians living in different corners
of the world have their favourite Indian haunts from Devon Avenue in Chicago, to
Southhall in London, not to mention the ubiquitous corner shops which exist in
almost all the major cities in the US, Canada, UK and elsewhere. And of course
one can also find exclusive Indian enclaves in Singapore, Mauritius and other
parts of the globe.
Interestingly, many
of the products one finds in Indian shopping shelves are the same ones being
sold in the US and UK. Since they have to pass through rigorous checks abroad,
like those done by Food and Drug Administration in the US, the products exported
abroad are generally of a superior quality. This works out to a win-win
situation even for the manufacturers and producers since they get a stamp of
“export quality” which they tout aggressively in their domestic marketing. Even
the ease of use and preparation of some of the ready-to-make Indian products has
improved substantially in the last few years. For instance, rava idlis made
using MTR’s mix many not be the same as the ones you get in a Kamat or Udupi
restaurant in Bangalore, but they come close, especially if you are willing to
discount the fact that you are making it out of a tetra-pack, thousands of miles
away from Bangalore! It might surprise some to hear that Indian beer -
Kingfisher and Knockout, compete for market space in the increasingly glamorous
international beer market in the US. They are available at many large liquor
shops across the country.
The advent of dotcom era, when
everything “e” or “dotcom” became instantly fashionable, also saw the
mushrooming of a number of Indian retailers in the cyberspace. I remember asking
the local Indian grocer if he was threatened by the advent of the dozens of
dotcoms. At that time, he just shrugged his shoulders, but I am sure that he is
glad that his “business model” enabled him to survive while the dot retailers
vanished faster than one could say “Parachute coconut oil”. Just to set the
record straight, I must add that a few brave (and cash-rich) Indian grocers are
still surviving in the cyberworld. Namaste.com, Rediff.com and Eshakti.com may
be down, but not out.
As per the 2000
census, there are 1.7 million people in the US who identify themselves as Asian
Indians or Indian Americans first- and second-generation immigrants or whose
ancestors migrated to the US from India. If even half of this population
consumes Indian food at least four or five times a week, this translates to a
tremendous market. There are a number of established importers of Indian spices,
lentils (dal’s), herbs and condiments who distribute them through the chain of
Indian shops and bazaars. The market is huge but fragmented.
Another aspect of
our “Indian culture” that people abroad love to nurture is our love for
everything ‘Bollywood’. Although I don’t watch a lot of movies, I am in the
minority. My wife is the kind of person movie marketers’ dream of - she loves
Hindi movies and music, hence we are regular patrons at the local India bazaar
which also rents videos and DVD’s. Technical advances, especially in the DVD
technology, have made watching Indian movies a pleasure, especially when one
thinks about the shoddy quality of some of the videos that used to circulate
even a few years ago. In many metros in the US, people have access to Indian
channels on cable. A number of movie-halls across the country also regularly
screen Indian movies. I was reading somewhere that Bollywood recovers most of
its movie production costs from “international rights”, a fact which I can
attest to, especially when if one considers the exorbitant ticket prices one
pays to watch Indian movies (as compared to what one would pay for Hollywood
flicks). There are a couple of enterprising Indian immigrants in Denver who
procure and screen latest Hindi, Tamil and Telugu movies during weekends. Their
marketing is generally by word-of-mouth though they also maintain mailing lists
and list-servers to inform patrons of forthcoming releases.
For those with an
entrepreneurial mind reading this article and dreaming of flying to the US and
starting an import-Indian-stuff business; I must warn you that it is a tough
road, with a number of established players to contend with. An interesting list
of Indian bazaars and grocers can be found at GaramChai.com
(http://www.garamchai.com/bazaar.htm). What this translates to be the fact that
consumers like myself have an easy access to Indian groceries, spices, music and
movies! Among the favourite shopping items on our visits to India include music,
spices and herbs, especially the harder-to-find kind, not to mention the
homemade pickles and savouries. Among the few businesses that haven’t taken a
big hit in recent times are grocers (including Indian grocers). Rain or shine,
strong economy or a slowdown, Indians still want their spicy food (and
groceries, and music, and videos...).
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