At Salad Bowl Branding we keep looking for the next food trend on the menu.  While we see patterns emerging in the Mexican, Indian and Asian, there is a new flavor capturing America’s tastemakers, Moroccan.

As dining out for ethnic foods is slowly improving, we are noticing that food outlets who provide more exotic products and restaurants with more adventurous menus are showing strong growth, especially with young adults who have become the most adventurous in trying global cuisines.

This market often identify themselves as ‘cooking enthusiasts’ and are eager to experiment with new recipes, tastes and flavors – stirring the demand for what was once considered exotic specialty foods.

While this niche market may be small, they are also more affluent and are spending more on healthy foods both in the supermarket and in home meal preparation, which continues to be a strong economic trend.

According to a report in PR Newswire, “Young adults are driving the interest in ethnic foods in the USA and their adventurous eating is introducing foods from around the world to their family and friends”.

Even in a recovering economy, ethnic foods set a record at $2.2 billion in sales {see NASFT State of Industry Report}. While Indian and Asian foods continue their rapid growth, expect to see interest in the African and South American international foods category to grow as well.

Rich spiced sauces in  Indian and Thai foods are winning consumers’ palates.  Moroccan cuisine, which compliments this category nicely,  is sure to be one of the hottest exotic culinary experiences in the coming months.