American masala

Editor’s note: Hy Mariampolski is managing director of QualiData Research, San Francisco. Ashish Joshi is associate consumer insights manager at Clorox, Oakland, Calif. Manish Gupta is assistant research manager at Colgate-Palmolive, New York. Sattiraju Chandrashekhar is marketing research analyst at Boehringer-Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ridgefield, Conn.

America’s 1.9 million Asian-Indian immigrants are a highly educated and upwardly mobile segment. The U.S. Census 2000 offers several interesting insights into this group: The median household income of Indian-Americans is $48,320, over 50 percent higher than that of U.S.-born households. The mean Indian-American household income is $65,381, the highest of any ethnic group in the U.S. Eighty-nine percent of Indian-American families are two-parent households. Half of Indian-Americans own their own home. Less than 2 percent of Indian-Americans under 65 receive public assistance.

Sixty-five percent of Indian immigrants have a bachelor’s degree or higher, vs. 20 percent for U.S.-born individuals and higher than any other immigrant population. Five percent of all physicians in the U.S. obtained their primary medical degree from India. Fifty-nine percent of Indian-American women are employed. Forty-three percent of Indian-Americans are employed in managerial/professional jobs. More than 5,000 Indian-Americans are faculty members at American universities.

Acculturation

Like all immigrants, however, acculturation - the compromising of original cultural norms in order to conform to the host society - is a pervasive fact among Indian-Americans. Some changes are forced by new lifestyle demands; others are a result of attraction to alternative options in the immigrants’ new home and, therefore, are more voluntary.

Acculturation drives changes in many aspects of immigrants’ consumer behavior. It particularly influences adaptation in diet and food consumption customs. That is the focus of this study.

Based on intensive interviews and ethnographic observations of several Asian-Indian households in the southeastern United States through the process of preparing and eating food, it is apparent that:

- Asian-Indian immigrants quickly conform to American trends of using convenience foods, unlearning the formal eating habits of India and shifting mealtime roles.

- These early changes are primarily driven by the needs of a changed lifestyle that involves time pressures and changed sex roles.

- Changes not driven by necessity evolve slowly along pathways that favor cultural familiarity.

The main themes that circumscribe Asian-Indian adaptation to American cultural norms include the following changes:

  • Asian-Indians adapt to informal eating habits

Asian-Indian-Americans have accommodated to American mealtime patterns in terms of content and timing. Breakfast, for example, is always elaborate in India, consisting of paranthas, idlis, dosas, upmas, poha, etc. (i.e., crepes, bread stuffed with vegetables, rice dumplings, etc.). In contrast, here breakfast either is not eaten or is limited to cereals, energy bars, crackers etc., along with a glass of fruit juice. The availability of alternative breakfast foods in the U.S. seems irresistible to Asian-Indian-Americans.

Lunch patterns follow breakfast. Among our respondents, we observed consumption of leftovers from the night before, items prepared quickly in the morning, such as sandwiches, noodles etc., a snack from the vending machine or a quick lunch with colleagues at restaurants.

The Indian scenario, in contrast, would have involved either a packed lunch in the office, an elaborate lunch at home or a meal at the college cafeteria. All these meals would have a full Indian spread and would be prepared fresh — leftovers are not considered appropriate at lunchtime in India.

Time pressure is an important reason for this change. However the desire to have an Indian lunch is greater than the desire to have an Indian breakfast. This gets reflected in the leftover dinner being used for the next day’s lunch. Also, lunch is a more social occasion than breakfast. So the American practices of having a lunch out of the vending machines or grabbing a quick bite from an eatery have been adopted by our informants as well.

  • Asian-Indians adopt changes in meal timings

The time for dinner conforms to local practices and has moved from 8-10 p.m. to 6-8 p.m. The small or non-existent breakfast and relatively light lunch makes respondents feel hungry earlier.

The Indian custom of a late afternoon snack with tea or coffee has been discontinued in America. Only informants who were still conforming to eating a late dinner at around 8-10 p.m. continue having this evening snack.

  • Switch to convenience and alternative foods -expansion of food/beverage types

Ingredients that never were part of a meal in India have been added to the menu. One major addition in the diet is cheese. All informants had a large variety of cheese in their refrigerator. They were also using cheese in traditional Indian dishes that did not have cheese in them. It was added like a dressing to quite a few Indian subzis (vegetable stews).

The other change is enjoying soft drinks with the meal instead of using just water. In India consumption of soft drinks is restricted to outside the home, unlike the U.S., where they may be used with meals. The refrigerators of the respondents are filled with soft drinks.

Salads as eaten in the U.S. are very different from salads in India. Here salads are consumed at the beginning of the meal rather than along with the meal. All the ingredients are raw. The nutritional value of salads is highly motivating as a reason for consumption. Therefore some informants make a point of eating salads several times a week.

Enjoying the cuisines of other cultures is a prominent American habit reinforced by the availability of prepared dishes and ingredients at supermarkets and restaurants. Indian-American immigrants have made unique adaptations to this custom. Because of similarity to Indian cuisine, adopting Mexican and Italian dishes is very prominent. Respondents describe regularly preparing tacos, burritos, tostadas, spaghetti and cut pasta for their families. These foods are seen as convenient, tasty, quick and easy to make while adding variety to the menu.

In addition to outright adoption of other cuisines, there is also considerable adaptation to personal tastes. One of the informants describes making curry-flavored pasta with sambhar masala. Another adds regular Indian spices to noodles to suit her Indian taste buds.

  • Asian-Indians use quicker modes of cooking

None of our informants owned microwave ovens in India but in the U.S. this appliance is being used extensively. Microwaves are used for heating food, baking potatoes and in some cases also for making rice.

Use of baking ovens has also increased. Unlike India, the availability of cake mixes encourages baking. Conventional Indian cooking uses an Indianized version of the baking oven that is called a tandoor. It is however not usually found in the homes but at the restaurants. So the traditional Indian home meal does not have too many items from the baking oven. But Indians in the U.S. seem to be open to baking cakes.

  • Asian-Indians eat out more often

Almost all our informants report a greater incidence of eating out both with family and with colleagues. Quick office lunches, elaborate family dinners and celebratory get-togethers with friends are all occasions for eating out in conformity with the American pattern.

  • Asian-Indian men also cook and help in the household!

Buying groceries, cooking and other kitchen chores in India are mostly the responsibility of the women in the house. In America, however, that strict definition of gender roles seems to have become relaxed. The Indian-American male head of household gets involved in buying groceries, doing chores like cleaning dishes and kitchen surfaces and also cooking. Occasionally, the man takes charge of cooking a whole meal alone. This would be a very rare occurrence in India.

It is not just the high labor force participation of Indian-American women that causes this change in gender roles. It is a profound cultural adaptation. Even if the wife were employed, men would feel uncomfortable about cooking and cleaning in India because of the adverse reaction it would draw from friends and relatives. The pressures in the U.S., in contrast, favor egalitarianism.

  • Asian-Indians develop an increased awareness of nutritional value of food

Nutritional aspects of the diet exert increasing influence on food choices for Indian-Americans. For example, respondents consume milk that is low in fat and have become aware of fat content in various product categories - even learning about polyunsaturated fats and monosaturated fats and their impact on cholesterol levels. Usage of sugar has receded. Even the amount of spices - despite the preference for highly spiced foods in India -has started to conform to less seasoned American patterns.

  • Changes in eating customs

Another interesting change is the adaptation to American customs while eating food. Most respondents acknowledge that unlike in India, where they ate most of their food by hand and spoon, they had started using knives, forks and paper napkins in the U.S. Surprisingly, this change in the manner of eating food is not limited to formal settings or when eating non-Indian food but occurs also while eating an Indian meal with their family members. Many regard the use of knives and forks as central to their gradual acculturation process and something that they must adopt as soon as possible.

One of the informants also described how his habit of regularly praying to God before eating his meal in India had faded away over time. He attributed this mainly to time constraints.

Implications of this study

Asian-Indian immigrants are going through a very profound period of acculturation. Marketers trying to target this small but relatively affluent population may have opportunities in meeting their unique cultural adaptations. Convenience foods and products with a Mexican or Italian heritage may reach a receptive audience here, particularly if they suggest options with an Indian flavor.

Acculturation is a two-way street, however, as immigrants share their own foods and customs with the larger society. Marketers may also cultivate opportunities in adding Indian flavors to their product mix. Bringing in well-known Indian brand names may give these products a seal of authenticity. Eventually, curries may be thought of as just as American as bagels and pizza.