EUROPEANS GOBBLE AMERICAN FAST FOOD; GOURMETS ARE AGHAST.Byline: Vanessa Valkin Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Ten years ago, Steve Bernard and his wife began a small business making kettle-fried chips in a shop in Cape Cod Cape Cod, narrow peninsula of glacial origin, 399 sq mi (1,033 sq km), SE Mass., extending 65 mi (105 km) E and N into the Atlantic Ocean. It is generally flat, with sand dunes, low hills, and numerous lakes. , Mass. Today they're looking far from home for big sales growth - to markets in Europe. ``We're growing 100 percent every year,'' said Bernard, who also has started to market potato chips in South America South America, fourth largest continent (1991 est. pop. 299,150,000), c.6,880,000 sq mi (17,819,000 sq km), the southern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and Canada. ``The area where the U.S. has a little edge is in snack food.'' While U.S. agricultural exports are projected to drop overall next year, snack food exports boomed 30 percent the first six months of 1996, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the U.S. Department of Agriculture. ``U.S. agricultural exports have shifted from bulk commodities to consumer goods consumer goods Any tangible commodity purchased by households to satisfy their wants and needs. Consumer goods may be durable or nondurable. Durable goods (e.g., autos, furniture, and appliances) have a significant life span, often defined as three years or more, and over the last 10 years,'' said Mattie Sharpless, the agricultural minister-counselor at the American Embassy in Paris. American companies are not the only ones cashing in on the snack food boom. The European market has grown 27.5 percent in the last five years, according to the Leatherhead leath·er·head n. See friarbird. Food Research Association. Apart from U.S.-based Pepsico Inc., the six largest snack food producers in Europe are all European-owned, the association said. This rise in demand for snack foods came with the high-powered '90s lifestyle among many Europeans leaving behind slower-paced ways. ``People are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. faster ways - opening up a box and not peeling the vegetables,'' said Sheila Moore, an international division manager for Nalley's Fine Foods, a world wide exporter of American food. In France, the land of haute cuisine, there are 500 McDonald's restaurants, and American packaged-food companies are also picking up on the demand for the quick food fix. ``Dipping started in the United States with Mexican-style tortilla chips and salsa. It has started to be fashionable in France, and lots of French companies are adapting this innovation to their products,'' said Delphine Genty, associate director of a French food research company. This year the French company Bel brought out a product called Pick and Croq: biscuits with a melted-cheese dip. Biscuiterie d'Abbe launched Pick and Pom: animal shaped biscuits with an apple-sauce dip. Some American companies are also trying to cater to tastes abroad. Ben and Jerry's has come up with an ice cream called Cool Britannia, vanilla with strawberries, popular in London. Traditionalists aren't too enchanted en·chant tr.v. en·chant·ed, en·chant·ing, en·chants 1. To cast a spell over; bewitch. 2. To attract and delight; entrance. See Synonyms at charm. with the Americanization of the European palate. Michel Piot, food and restaurant critic for the Paris daily Le Figaro, is horrified hor·ri·fy tr.v. hor·ri·fied, hor·ri·fy·ing, hor·ri·fies 1. To cause to feel horror. See Synonyms at dismay. 2. To cause unpleasant surprise to; shock. by the diminishing popularity of traditional cuisine and the rise in fast food. ``I think there should be a law against McDonald's,'' he sniffed. ``It's against my philosophy. People should take time to make food.'' CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Steve Bernard of Cape Cod, Mass., shows his American potato chips in Villepinte, north of Paris. Associated Press |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion