Vietnamese spring rolls are considered as one of the most favourite dishes of French people, along with Japanese sushi and American popcorn.
French television channel TF1 on February 7 aired a report on the trend of French people who are becoming more interested in foreign cuisine. According to the report, this is not a new phenomenon, but it has become more obvious over the past 10 years.
Vietnamese spring rolls on sale at a supermarket in France. (Photo: VNA)
Food and related items from Mexico, Vietnam or India are increasingly attracting customers. Previously, foreign food only occupied a small area in the Carrefour supermarkets, but now the shelves are always filled with food and goods from many countries around the world.
According to Stefen Bompas, Carrefour's customer experience manager, foreign goods have been arranged on 2-3 shelves of the supermarkets, adding that in the past, there was only a small corner with a few products from neighbouring countries.
Carrefour supermarkets currently sell about 3,000 products imported from 24 countries. They do not only include products from such neighbouring countries as Italy, Portugal and Spain, but also those from Asian nations like Vietnam, Thailand, Japan or Mexico and Brazil of Latin America. Revenue from these imported culinary and agricultural products increased by 20 percent last year and are now considered as potential "gold mines" for the supermarket chain to exploit.
Statistics of the Carrefour supermarket chain in France showed that among the most popular foreign culinary products, Japanese sushi topped the list, accounting for 45 percent of sales, followed by American popcorn and Macaroni. Vietnam's traditional spring rolls ranked third, accounting for 19 percent of sales of foreign goods last year./.