The British food service market for Japanese food is worth more than £500 million a year*, a trend that is fast transferring into retail.

Food coatings specialist Witwood Food Products is capitalising on this emerging trend with a new collection of coatings for retail and foodservice that reflect consumer demand for premium products, healthy eating, convenience, sharing and fast casual dining.Witwood is launching the new range on the back of significant investment into NPD at its UK headquarters in Oxfordshire. The firm has invested £100,000 in a complete lab refit to house its growing team of 30 food technologists and technicians in state of the art facilities.

Marketing manager, Heather South, says, Certain Japanese ingredients and foods – sushi, wasabi and teriyaki sauce for example – are familiar to UK consumers, but the depth of consumer understanding of Japanese food is developing in line with the market for this cuisine type as their demand for and exposure to more authentic and complex flavours and ingredients increases.

Our research has given us a clear picture of the current market, highlighted what’s hot and what’s not, as well as identifying emerging trends and helping us forecast where we see Japanese cuisine going in the UK.

The result is a collection of product concepts, which, according to Witwood, offers something for everyone as well as ticking boxes across a range of key food trends.

We recognise that Japanese is still an emerging trend, and certain foods could be a step too far for some people says Heather. We’ve consciously developed a range that has something for everyone, offering ways in which to Japanese food as well as concepts that will tantalise the taste buds of more adventurous Japanese food fans across a variety of different meal types.

For those new to Japanese cuisine, Witwood has created concepts based on the familiar; such as crispy tempura vegetables and edamame beans flavoured with wasabi, sesame and soy and finished with a light seaweed breader.

At the premium end of the range, and for the more adventurous eater, Witwood has developed the alternative Sunday roast – a meaty tuna loin coated in a rich, sticky sauce flavoured with soy, tomato, garlic, a hint of zesty orange and panko crumb with red paprika flakes and seaweed visual, served with wilted pak choi and baby new potatoes.

The range also includes sharing starters – Salmon, Prawn and Edamame Bean Bites, and Japanese Vegetable Cakes; light lunches, such as Japanese Style Fishcake and Chicken Ramen and everyday evening meals including Teriyaki Salmon and Breaded Vegetable Strips with Japanese Curry Sauce.

We’ve shown the concepts to a few customers already and the response has been fantastic, says Heather. Feedback suggests this is because Japanese food offers something for everyone and our new concepts reflect this broad appeal.

Turning Japanese

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