For Immediate Release

By Rob McMahon, Current Issue Bakers Journal (web exclusive)

This May, Nancy Ciancibello released a product to make her grandmother proud.

She modelled her line of empanadas – protein-packed, Latin American pastries – on those she used to eat during her childhood in Colombia.

“I decided to make a pastry…like what we would eat almost every week,” she said. “It’s important for me to retain the value of our culture, and let people use that value for their own benefit.”

Ciancibello is one of a growing number of bakers creating foods for the ethnic market. Like the rest of the baking industry, these individuals and companies are following the trend of using healthy, organic ingredients.

Ciancibello became involved in the organic business before she started baking. She imported organic oils from Europe and South America for the spa and cosmetics industries, before switching to food in 2004. Now, Ciancibello, who is a member of the Canadian Organic Trade Association’s advisory board, claims her factory is the first Latin American food plant that has passed federal inspection in Canada.

“In 2004, people were starting to become interested in organic food,” she said. “There’s also so much interest in ethnic baking. It’s the same as when Canada first brought mangoes in – people didn’t know what they were, but were very interested.”

Ciancibello’s assertion that consumers are interested in ethnic foods – an assertion seemingly backed up by government statistics -- is not quantifiable, since no direct studies of the size of the Canadian ethnic market are presently available.

According to Statistics Canada’s 2001 profile of the baking industry, “the largest number of retail food establishments are found in the bakery and tortilla industry, a consequence of the many small ethnic and specialty bakeries in the industry.” As well, an overview of the food and beverage processing sector released by the Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food Ministry quoted a report that found sales of ethnic foods are growing and becoming more mainstream – and will drive volume in the frozen foods category over the next decade.

Ethnic Food in Canada’s website states that the ethnic food market is huge in Ontario, which is home to 2.78 million ethnic consumers. A key driver of this estimate is demographics. With more than 100,000 immigrants moving to Toronto every year, the argument goes, the market is expanding and pushing ethnic tastes into the mainstream. According to Ethnic Food in Canada, bakeries account for 33 per cent of Toronto’s specialty food sector – almost four times the provincial average.

“The demand for ethnic and specialty, and organic food products is vast and fast growing, and as the market grows, so does the opportunity,” states the website.

Using demographics as a base for projections, a 2006 press release issued by the Ethnic and Specialty Food Expo, claims ethnic and specialty foods, including Kosher and Halal, are growing at double-digit rates. It states that about one-quarter of all food-processing plants in Toronto make specialty products, and that the specialty and ethnic foods sector has grown about twice as fast as the overall food industry, and is expected to grow at 12 per cent annually during the coming five years.

Event director, Donna Wood, said the city’s taste in food reflects its increasingly diverse population – though she noted the need for a national or regional study of the market.

“Our plates will change, as will the foods on them, as the demographic landscape changes,” she said.

Wood said although the Expo is only in its second year, she’s seen an increase in interest from exhibitors and suppliers. She said the number of exhibitors has grown from 75 to over 100 this year.

“The concept has been well received at the exhibitor end, and on the buyer’s side,” she said. “Buyers enjoy going to one place and finding a range of ethnic foods.”

Maureen Simon, who is originally from Trinidad, started selling her Caribbean rum cakes in 1990, in a small stand at the Public Market on Vancouver’s Granville Island. Created from recipes developed by Simon’s great-grandmother, but adapted for the Canadian palate (for example, her products are less spicy than those she makes at home), sales soon increased.

“I started baking because I wanted to earn extra money while raising kids,” she said. “Demand increased, so I decided to go into mass production.”

Since then, she’s expanded her line of products to include other Caribbean-themed items, such as Jamaican patties, crackers and sauces. Two months ago, she purchased a commercial kitchen in Surrey, B.C, to use as a production facility, and for product testing and development, and is now supplying grocery chains in Western Canada, such as Whole Foods, Capers and Safeway, and expanding East.

“I saw a niche for ethnic baking,” she said. “Nobody else was doing it, and on Granville Island, there was a lot of demand.”

According to a July 2005 report on the U.S. Ethnic Food Market, released by the Canadian Department of Agriculture, the U.S ethnic food market is expected to increase by 50 per cent over the next decade. This represents a large opportunity, considering it currently generates $75 billion US every year, and accounts for $1 out of every $7 spent on groceries. It also notes that 75 per cent of ethnic food consumption comes from mainstream consumers, with influences of local ethnic communities and international travel causing them to acquire tastes.

Faced with this potential, Ciancibello decided to begin developing a recipe, based on that used by her grandmother, to design a low-fat empanada. She said the process, which is rooted in her interest in artisan-style baking, took three years of trial and error. Every detail – from organic palm fruit oil to the blend of different flours to the sea salt – is carefully chosen. Ingredients are kept simple and organic, as well as functional. For example, she pairs meats with herbs that aid digestion, such as chicken and tarragon.

“I noticed that puff pastry dates back to the 17th century, and it’s really untouched – people still use the original recipe,” she said. “That caught my attention, and I thought I would give it a try, working with puff pastry and making something different.”

The resulting pastry, a combination of filo and puff pastry, is also low-fat,” said Ciancibello. She said she’s already seeing results – at a recent trade show, she said 50 people lined up to taste one of her creations.

In her “Ethnic Gone Organic” product line, Simon also chose to focus on healthy, primarily organic ingredients in her line of products. She uses whole grains and flax seeds, and keeps her products low in salt and fat. Two years ago, she decided to use organic ingredients.

“I saw a need for it,” she said. “People are longing for a healthier lifestyle.”

According to industry reports from the U.S., such as Packaged Facts, in 2007 the popularity of ethnic flavours is expected to grow. As well, Canada’s new Food Guide, which was released in February, included ethnic products in its suggestions for healthy meals. These included couscous, whole-wheat pita and tortilla, bannock and naan bread.

Simon, who’s been attending trade shows for years, said that just as with any other aspect of the baking industry, passion is key in the ethnic baking sector.

“If you don’t have a passion for the product and for baking, don’t do it,” she said. “You can’t do it just to make money – that comes later, if you stick with it . . . . Ten years ago, ethnic food wasn’t that popular, but now it’s become mainstream.”