Global cuisine is no longer a niche. For today’s consumers, international flavors are an expectation, not a novelty. For retailers, foodservice operators, and emerging CPG brands, they represent a powerful growth opportunity in the marketplace, one that has only been accelerated via social media and new AI platforms.
At ECRM’s recent Center Store Grocery Sessions in Dallas, Diana Sheehan, founder of PDG Insights shared some insights around global cuisines during a presentation to buyers and seller participants that highlighted how global flavors have moved from immigrant households into mainstream retail aisles, what’s driving adoption today, and how brands and retailers can capture this momentum. In addition to showing how these foods and ingredients spread from home to niche markets to mainstream retail shelves, she also touched on how shopper behaviors, technology, and demographics are accelerating the pace of change.
I sat for an interview with Sheehan to discuss some of these trends uncovered by her and the team at PDG Insights, and below you’ll find a summary of these findings, as well as the full video interview.
From Chef Boyardee to global flavor adoption
According to Sheehan, the idea of “international food” in American grocery stores is older than many think. It started with Chef Boyardee, a brand founded by an immigrant family in the early 1900s. After canning spaghetti and sauce for soldiers in World War II, the returning servicemen came home with a taste for Italian food. “That really is the origin of this idea of international foods in the United States,” Sheehan says.
Since then, cuisines from every corner of the globe have followed a similar pattern of adoption. They begin in households, often among immigrant families cooking traditional meals. Then, through sharing with friends, dining out, or visiting specialty markets, exposure of these global foods and ingredients spreads. From there, these cuisines enter fast casual and quick-serve restaurants, which give these flavors broader visibility. Finally, once enough consumers are familiar with them (often around 30 to 40 percent, says Sheehan), mainstream grocery retailers embrace them.
“Once a cuisine type or a flavor profile has moved from home cooking to specialty grocery and fast casual and quick-serve restaurants into mainstream retail, that’s when you know you’ve hit the end of the innovation pipeline and it can be open for consumption by any consumer. Once penetration has gotten large enough, maybe 30 to 40 percent of people have tried these flavors, you start to see grocery stores engage,” says Sheehan.
How social media has changed everything
While in the past this transition could take many years or even decades, it can now happen much faster thanks to TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. Indeed, today’s younger consumers arrive at grocery stores and restaurants already expecting options beyond American standards. For brands and retailers, the implication is clear: waiting for cuisines to slowly build demand risks falling behind.
Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers are learning to cook, experiment, and explore cuisines not by traveling abroad or even visiting specialty markets, but by scrolling their social media feeds. Viral recipes and short videos have dramatically accelerated exposure and adoption. “We’re in a completely different ecosystem now than we were 20 years ago,” says Sheehan. The pipeline or timeline of adoption has easily been cut in half, if not in a third.”
Why consumers try new flavors
What drives someone to try these new cuisines in the first place? Sheehan points to three key motivators: The love of food, social influence, and health.
“There is a true love of food for some people,” she says. “Food lovers, or ‘foodies,’ have grown from a niche into the mainstream, and more consumers now identify with exploration as part of their food journey.”
Social influence is helping to drive this, as Sheehan has seen firsthand in her household, where her teenage sons elevated instant ramen into a gourmet experience after seeing TikTok videos: adding chili oil, garlic, and even soft-boiled eggs. “Access to social media and videos has basically created a borderless cooking ecosystem that really has changed how younger adults are viewing food,” she says.
Health trends also play a role. Older consumers often explore Mediterranean or Asian cuisines for wellness benefits, while younger generations simply see global flavors as a natural way to eat better without sacrificing indulgence.
The role of AI in meal planning
Just as social media reshaped awareness, AI is beginning to reshape planning and shopping. “AI has become an integral part of how many of us engage in grocery shopping and meal planning,” says Sheehan. “Consumers, especially younger ones, are using tools like ChatGPT and Copilot to turn ingredients into recipes or generate shopping lists.”
This matters because AI learns from data, Sheehan points out. If a consumer is open to trying international flavors, the algorithm will feed them more global recipes, perpetuating this exploration. For brands and retailers, Sheehan’s advice is to engage with these tools now, as stores with authentic reviews and strong online footprints are already being surfaced as top results when consumers search with prompts for global cuisine. “Retailers that are not addressing this now are going to be behind in a year,” she warns.
In-person demos still matter for global cuisine
Despite the rise of digital influence, in-store experiences remain crucial, especially for unfamiliar flavors shoppers may not be exposed to. “Consumers continue to really lean into the beauty of the demo,” says Sheehan. “Demos are back, and their impact on trial and trust is strong. More than half of consumers said they trusted that demo to help make them drive the purchase.”
For emerging brands, demos are one of the most effective ways to bridge the gap between initial curiosity and throwing an item in the shopping cart, as they provide immediate taste validation and reduce the risk for shoppers unfamiliar with a cuisine.
Lessons from specialty retailers
Specialty grocers that focus on global cuisines offer valuable lessons for mainstream chains seeking to build authentic global offerings. Sheehan recommends studying prepared foods and meal solutions in particular. “You could do something as simple as actually having marinated chile limon chicken breast to grill without doing a lot of work,” she says. “Even small touches signal respect for cultural preferences and build trust.”
Authenticity also matters. Lumping products under a single “international” aisle risks alienating shoppers looking for foods from specific regions. Instead, Sheehan recommends that retailers segment sets by region or cuisine and ensure authentic brands sit alongside mainstream ones. “Every food deserves its own callout,” she says.
Tailoring at the neighborhood level
Sheehan emphasizes that assortment decisions cannot be one-size-fits-all if they are to be effective. “Retailers need to tailor the assortment to the market you’re accommodating,” she says. “That has got to be done not just at a zip code level, but in many cases at a block level.”
Stores that embrace hyper-local tailoring, she noted, are rewarded with long-term loyalty. In diverse markets like Chicago, retailers are already dedicating perimeter and center-store space to multiple regions, creating what she called “ecosystems of adoption” where consumers cross-pollinate cuisines.
With limited available shelf space in the store, Sheehan says that retailers can balance authentic representation with experimentation by using a test-and-learn approach. “Start with an end cap featuring a cuisine of the month or by highlighting flavors throughout the store,” she says. “This can generate excitement without requiring permanent resets. The key is communication. They’ve got to find it, but you also got to tell them how to find it.”
The future of global cuisine at retail
For Sheehan, the takeaway is clear: global cuisines are not optional. “International foods are not a trend. These are a must-have for the future growth of grocery stores, particularly mainstream grocery stores,” she emphasized. Younger consumers, raised on TikTok tutorials and global dining options, expect to see their interests reflected in stores.
Retailers that fail to adapt risk losing relevance. “If you want to be able to compete, you’ve got to do a better job of incorporating the different flavors and cuisines of the international community in your stores in a way that doesn’t feel like an afterthought, but feels like an intention,” she concluded.
What It means for emerging brands, retailers, and foodservice
For emerging CPG brands, the path to mainstream still runs through specialty retail, foodservice, and demos, but the timeline is faster than ever thanks to social media. Because of this, building authenticity and leveraging digital storytelling are critical.
For retailers, the challenge is to balance assortment, authenticity, and space. Hyper-local tailoring, end-cap testing, and intentional communication will help drive adoption while building loyalty.
For foodservice operators, global flavors are an endless source of inspiration. From fast casual to QSR, menu innovation often leads the way for retail adoption, and today’s digital-first consumers are eager to see those flavors reflected in both restaurants and stores.
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