Leading oriental food supplier, Wing Yip, commissioned the Oriental Food Report, a comprehensive study of the growing influence of Chinese food and other South East Asian cuisines in the UK that looked at some of the drivers of trends and consumer behaviour.

The independent research was conducted by Populus through an online survey of more than 3,000 consumers, and includes commentary from leading players in the oriental food and restaurant sector, as well as input from analysts Horizons and CGA Peach.

The research found that 94% of people have eaten Chinese food at home as a takeaway or in a restaurant, followed by Thai with 56% uptake and Japanese 35%. However, Japanese was considered to be the rising star with more growth expected in the future because of its universal appeal, particularly with sushi appealing to all ages.

Pub restaurants, however, were described as “the missing market” with very few respondents ever having oriental cuisine in a pub; only 7% ate oriental food once or twice a month in pubs, while almost 40% said they never ate it at all in them.

Research showed that restaurants, particularly new openings in and around London, are driving consumption with 70%-80% of those eating oriental cuisine, other than Chinese, eat it in restaurants, while younger consumers in London were eating more Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese food – 32%, 26% and 21% respectively.

With relatively few people cooking oriental food at home, the report claimed restaurants are critical to the success of the market and that there are now more than 4,000 Chinese, Thai and Japanese restaurants in the UK – an 18% growth in the last five years.

Latest data from Horizons backs the research, highlighting that the number of Pan Asian dishes listed by branded restaurants has also grown by 9% over the last three years. The top five most popular oriental dishes are sweet and sour chicken at number one, followed by Thai green curry, chicken chow mein, sushi and crispy duck.

The report also highlights consumers’ more adventurous tastes with 39% choosing to eat Thai food and Japanese 20%, which is now the UK’s third most popular oriental cuisine. Supporting this trend Horizons says sushi is now the most commonly listed Pan Asian dish on branded menus, representing one in four of all Pan Asian menu listings – up from 14% two years ago. Travel was flagged up as another significant factor, with more people holidaying in South East Asia because of their love of its food and therefore more likely to eat it back in the UK.

Wing Yip, which started supplying restaurants and takeaways in 1970, says that over the years, the business has changed from being a supplier of Chinese ingredients to other diverse oriental ingredients.

Brian Yip, managing director of Wing Yip UK Trading, explained: “We started out nearly 50 years ago supplying genuine Chinese ingredients and produce to the restaurant trade, but now through our supermarkets and online store customers are buying an ever-expanding range of oriental food products from across South East Asia.

“This report highlights that consumers are becoming far more adventurous in their tastes and with the number of pan Asian restaurants growing, including some exciting new concepts, the future looks bright for the sector.”

Wing Yip currently has four superstores in Birmingham, Croydon, Cricklewood and Manchester, with Cardiff earmarked as a future site, plus an online store. It stocks more than 4,500 products from across South East Asia including Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Vietnam and Korea.