The rise of World Foods: how retailers are winning with cultural relevance

In 2025, the global World Foods market was valued at between US$70 billion and US$80 billion and is forecast to exceed US$95 billion by the early 2030s, growing at around 7% annually.

Growth is being driven by rising immigration, increasingly multicultural households, and younger consumers who expect global flavours as part of everyday eating. Immigrants also represent valuable new customers for supermarkets that offer the authentic products they are looking for. As a result, World Foods has shifted from a niche category to a strategic growth engine.

This article highlights where innovation is emerging and how retailers are strengthening their appeal with increasingly diverse communities.

Dubai stands out as best in class

Dubai is one of the world’s most multicultural cities, and its grocery market reflects that reality with exceptional precision. With a majority expatriate population, retailers compete on their ability to recreate “home” for dozens of nationalities. This dynamic drives deeper assortments, more authentic brands, and culturally attuned merchandising across formats and neighbourhoods.

A hyper-segmented approach to world foods

Dubai’s shopper base is extraordinarily diverse, so grocers segment World Foods to a level of granularity rarely seen elsewhere. Assortments, signage, and services are tailored to the cultural needs and expectations of different communities. Reflecting the largest expatriate groups, retailers commonly dedicate space to Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, Iranian, Egyptian, and Levantine ranges. To ensure authenticity and build loyalty, these zones carry core staples, spices, snacks, and trusted brands that mirror home‑country shopping habits.

Dubai retailers leading the way

Carrefour excels at segmenting its global food aisles, offering an extensive and clearly structured assortment. Its breadth across ambient, fresh, and frozen categories allows it to serve multiple nationalities.

Choithram’s has become the premium destination for Dubai’s Indian community, with Indian shoppers accounting for 60% to 70% of its customer base. The retailer adapts its World Foods ranges based on a store’s catchment needs. In areas with large Filipino, Thai, or other expatriate populations, stores expand their offers to include relevant ranges and niche products for these communities.

Union Coop’s estate is concentrated in Emirati‑majority areas, and more than 60% of its customers are Emirati. Yet many of its stores serve highly mixed catchments, including locations where Filipino shoppers make up as much as 60% of the local population, while others are in strongly European or Indian communities. The retailer adjusts its offer accordingly.

In select stores, its Euromercato zone functions as a European supermarket shop-in-shop. Union Coop also recognises the importance of flavour variation within communities, treating South Indian and North Indian preferences as distinct needs rather than a single category.

Canada integrates World Foods into mainstream grocery

Canada is one of the world’s most immigrant-driven countries, with, according to the 2021 Census, 23% of its population, or 8.3 million people, born abroad. The largest communities originate from India, China, the Philippines, and the UK. This demographic mix has encouraged mainstream grocers to treat World Foods as a core category, rather than an add-on.

Sobeys is one of several retailers that excel in this space. It segments international ranges across ambient, fresh, and frozen categories, ensuring relevance for major communities and making global ingredients easy to shop for. Its approach demonstrates how thoughtful category design can help retailers meet the needs of multicultural shoppers and broaden ranges’ appeal with mainstream consumers who are increasingly interested in global flavours.

Europe shows pockets of innovation, but opportunities remain

Many European retailers offer World Food sections, yet these areas are often shallow, difficult to navigate, and inconsistently segmented. Shoppers frequently turn to specialist stores for authentic ingredients, especially when recipes call for products that are not widely stocked in mainstream supermarkets. Better signposting, deeper assortments, and stronger insight into local demographics could unlock significant growth.

There are, however, pockets of innovation. In Norway, Meny has developed a well-structured World Foods offer that reflects the country’s largest immigrant groups, particularly those from Eastern Europe. Its World Cuisine category includes a QR code inviting customers to request products they cannot find, signalling a willingness to co-create the range with local communities. Meny also offers a solid selection of products from Thailand, Japan, India, and Mexico.

In the UK, Tesco is expanding its World Foods offer by partnering with global brands to introduce more authentic international sub-categories, including Indo-Chinese products. It is increasing ranges’ depth and enhancing displays to reflect the rising demand for global flavours. Sainsbury’s is also expanding its world foods category across more than 1,100 stores, increasing shelf space and diversifying its global assortment as part of its strategy to be the first choice for food in the UK.

How retailers can win with World Foods offers

World Foods is one of the few grocery categories where demographic growth, cultural relevance, and consumer curiosity align. Retailers operating in areas with concentrated nationalities are becoming more adept at adjusting their ranges to match local demographics, creating micro‑localised assortments that resonate with specific communities.

As authentic imported products become increasingly available in mainstream grocery channels, suppliers will need to adapt pack languages, flavour profiles, and activation plans to reflect cultural preferences and neighbourhood-level differences.

The retailers that succeed will be those that treat World Foods not as a single aisle, but as a strategic opportunity to build loyalty, increase basket size, and reflect the cultural richness of the communities they serve.

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