A BOOM IN BUSINESS LOCAL MARKET FOR ASIAN FOOD, PRODUCTS EXPLODES WITH CELEBRATION OF LUNAR NEW YEAR.

Byline: Candice Choi Staff Writer

An explosion of red and gold lanterns and strings of decorative firecrackers deck Asian supermarkets as shoppers snatch up everything from peanuts to tangerines to fresh fish to mark today's Lunar New Year.

``You need noodles for sure. That's a definite,'' said Jonathan Liu, a Simi Valley resident who was at a packed 99 Ranch in Van Nuys on Tuesday. Fruit, paper decorations and a giant circular tray of candy and sweets filled his cart.

Though the holiday barely registers on the radars of mainstream America, it is one of the biggest sales days for rapidly expanding Asian grocery chains like 99 Ranch.

``People just get together to talk and enjoy their relatives and eat,'' said Jennifer Tsao, spokeswoman for 99 Ranch. Aside from eating 10-course meals of ``lucky'' dishes, the day also involves handing out little red envelopes of lucky money and commemorating ancestors.

The Asian-American market is one of the fastest growing in the country and Asians accounts for 12 percent of California's population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Although the Asian population is one-third the size of the Hispanic population, it commands more than half the buying power of Hispanics.

The Lunar New Year is the single biggest holiday for the Asian population, said Valentine Polyakov, spokesman for Kang & Lee, a marketing agency based in New York. Though it is most popular in Chinese and Vietnamese communities, Koreans and Japanese celebrate the holiday to a lesser degree and the business world has recognized the cross-culture potential.

A slew of Fortune 500 companies salute the day through Asian-language media, he said. ``It's not so much through products, but just celebratory ads.''

Stores themselves also try to appeal to as broad a market as possible. While the 99 Ranch in San Gabriel is heavily focused on the Chinese market, the Van Nuys location serves a much more mixed Asian community including Vietnamese and Filipinos, Tsao said.

``Every store, we change the mix of goods a little,'' Tsao said.

At the Green Market in Reseda, Joanne Lee was expecting to sell out of her usual stock of sticky rice patties known as dukk used in Korean soups for the holiday.

Pointing to the sacks of dukk behind her small wooden counter, she said she brought 10 times the amount she normally brings.

Vickie Nguyen, a Reseda resident of Vietnamese background, was buying sticky rice cakes wrapped in banana leaves commonly described as ``Vietnamese tamales.''

Colleen Wang, who flew in from San Francisco to visit her family in West Los Angeles for the holiday, was buying flowers and food for the big day. The shopping list included roast duck, roast pork, barbecue pork and chicken.

Liu, the Simi Valley resident, reflected on the hope for a prosperous year ahead as he sorted through fresh melons. ``For New Years, the Chinese will spend anything. The bigger the celebration, the more luck it will bring.''

Candice Choi, [phone]

candice.choi(at)dailynews.com

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4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Fireworks explode over downtown Chengdu, China, in celebration of the Lunar New Year. At left, an assortment of candy, cakes and other goods stock the aisles.

China Photos/Getty Images

(3 -- 4 -- color) A live crab looks up from a spot in the seafood aisle at 99 Ranch in Van Nuys, where business is booming. A shopper, below, eyes items on sale as part of Lunar New Year celebrations.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer