🔒International Appeal: Asian markets vie for growing population amid heightened competition

Shopping for dumplings and handheld snacks at G Mart in Milford can be overwhelming: Four large freezer cases stretch across the Asian supermarket’s floor, packed with dozens of choices that span the globe.

You can pick from a range of Chinese bao steamed buns and wontons, Vietnamese spring rolls, Taiwanese “burger buns” and Japanese gyoza, not to mention Korean mandu and Filipino lumpia, or fried spring rolls.

Arrayed in colorful wrappers printed in multiple languages, G Mart’s selection of dumplings and their ilk is unmatched in the New Haven area and a major draw for customers, owner Jeff Gee said.

“We find people coming here for unique veggies, Japanese and Korean dumplings,” Gee said. “Stuff like that they can’t find nowhere else.”

G Mart, which opened in February 2021 in a former ShopRite, is the first large-scale supermarket in the New Haven area featuring groceries specific to East Asian cuisines, including specialty produce, meat, fresh fish and dry goods. With its sprawling footprint, the market has plenty of room for that range of dumpling varieties, in addition to dozens of iterations of dried noodles, soy sauce, seaweed and tofu, many imported from Asian nations.

Despite recent economic challenges due to inflation and supply-chain snarls, business has been steady, Gee said.

"It's OK," Gee said of the store’s sales. "We opened during the pandemic, so we can’t tell if it would be much different.”

G Mart’s opening was sparked by the growing population of people of Asian descent in the New Haven area. According to the U.S. Census, 34,662 people in New Haven County identified themselves as of Asian descent in 2020, an increase of nearly 15% since 2010.

In the city of New Haven, those of Asian descent represented 7% of the population in 2020, up from 4% in 2010, an increase of 3,180 residents, according to DataHaven.

Statewide, Asian Americans accounted for more than half of Connecticut’s population growth over the past 10 years and now make up 5% of the state’s total population.

Listing the many nations represented by the state’s Asian American Pacific Islander residents, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said recently, “In Connecticut, we embrace this beautiful diversity.”

She spoke Aug. 19, at the opening of the New England Asian American Cultural Center in Milford.

“I’m so delighted to be here to support our very vibrant and growing (Asian American Pacific Islander) community,” Bysiewicz said.

Competition heats up

Reflecting the promise of that growing population and Milford’s central location, a New York-based East Asian grocery chain announced plans this summer to open another superstore less than a mile from G Mart in Milford, at 804 Boston Post Road.

Queens-based iFresh said in June it had resumed long-gestating plans to open a 22,000-square-foot store, announcing an October launch even as its parent company faced charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had filed inaccurate financial statements.

At the 1.39-acre Milford site, once home to the historic M&M Farms produce market, work seemed to be on hold on the new iFresh in late August. Stacks of curved Chinese-style roof tiles sat scattered at the front of the building. Permits on the window dated from 2017 to 2020, and inside, a Red Bull can sat on a countertop coated with dust.

Even if the iFresh store never opens, other East Asian grocery chains are expanding in the region.

Queens-based East Asian grocer H Mart drew hundreds to the opening of its new store in August in Quincy, Massachusetts. H Mart, with a focus on Korean products, now operates nearly 100 stores across the U.S., Canada and United Kingdom.

Even West Coast grocery chains see opportunity in the Northeast: California’s 99 Ranch Market opened its first store in New York in April, launching a 45,602-square-foot outlet in Long Island. The chain, founded by a Taiwanese immigrant, also operates a store in Quincy, Massachusetts.

The broader sector represented by these superstores, the “multicultural grocery market,” represents a $50 billion sector that is growing by nearly 2% a year, according to publication Progressive Grocer. Changing demographics in addition to younger consumers’ interest in global cuisines are fueling the growth. Online Asian grocers also established larger footprints during the pandemic.

In addition to national and online competitors, major regional supermarket chains are also expanding their section of Asian products to draw business from specialty retailers.

“Over the past few years, Stop & Shop has been expanding our multicultural offerings to ensure the assortment at each of our stores reflects the diversity of the neighborhood we serve,” according to a statement by the Massachusetts-based chain.

Stop & Shop’s stores in Connecticut typically carry nearly 300 Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese products in addition to Indian, Thai, and Middle Eastern items. The number and variety of products varies depending on customer demographics and store size, according to the chain.

“We're continuously looking for ways to offer customers new and expanded varieties of authentic Asian items at our stores,” Stop & Shop said.

Neighborhood appeal

For smaller Asian markets in the New Haven area, diversification is becoming key to survival as major players eye the sector. Ready-to-eat prepared food is offered at many markets, especially in New Haven’s student neighborhoods.

The made-to-order bibimbap, a Korean rice dish, at Oriental Pantry at 486 Orange St. draws customers from across the city. Other small markets offer acupuncture, medicinal ingredients and beauty products, or benefit from locations in walkable neighborhoods.

Hong Kong Market at 71 Whitney Ave. offers fresh fish and staples in addition to the city’s widest selection of packaged rice, stacked in the front window at harvest time.

Ok Soon Sim, owner of Hanmi Oriental Food & Gift Shop on State Street in the East Rock neighborhood, said her homemade kimchi and vegan versions of Korean staple foods help keep the business thriving after 24 years.

Sim said her customer base is increasingly non-Asian cooks seeking specialty ingredients. She estimates that five years ago her customer base was 60% of Asian descent, compared to only 30% at present. Customers of all ages come in looking for the vegetables, sauces and noodles used in Asian recipes.

Ramyeon, Korea’s spicy take on instant noodles, remains popular, Sim said, even as students are increasingly priced out of the gentrifying neighborhood. Newer items in demand include kimchi, seaweed salads and rice dishes made without meat or shellfish – she often sells out of the vegan food that she gets delivered from New York within a day or two.

Sim said her business has grown in the past year or so as people increasingly cook at home and explore preparing Korean food as it grows in popularity.

“I’m very happy,” she said, surveying her packed shelves. “My customers are very nice people.”

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