 What's going on everybody welcome to a very special walk-and-talk episode of the hot-pot boys I just got the Osmo pocket three so I figured I tested out today the article that we're gonna be breaking down is Relevant to the street of East Broadway because East Broadway has a lot of Asian supermarkets in the article that we're talking about that went viral Already it's talking about how big conglomerate Asian chains that have developed over time such as 99 Ranch Hmart and even Latino based ones such as Viada are taking over the traditional supermarket space in Southern, California But also on the East Coast as well So we're talking about supplanting things like Albertson's Ralph's Vons and what are the reasons for that? So if you have noticed this in any community that you visited or the one that you're living in make sure you like subscribe and turn Your notifications because we're gonna get into the reasons what the article stated But as well as some of the reasons that I think so the main Reason that the article stated was they were saying that a lot of younger Americans are a lot more open to shopping at Asian markets Specifically the more refined ones with a more refined presentation that would be an Hmart That would be a 99 Ranch that would be a minsooah in the sense of like these are big companies now that have very refined marketing It's very clean. You know the the experience has been half Americanized But the products are still Asian and a lot of people are open to this in a way that they were previously not They also said that um due to the way the economic flow was that supermarket surged during the Pandemic, but then it switched back to restaurants But now it is switching back again to supermarkets because of hyperinflation Of course, everybody's been complaining about tipping everybody's can be complaining about just like how expensive restaurants are getting Obviously, that's due to the fact that their costs on a lot of shipping and raw goods is going up But at the end of the day the end consumers getting squeezed that's driving a return back to supermarkets And then of course, we're also talking about business mergers and consolidation, you know Albertsons is from Iowa then they bought vans and vans is trying to buy rouses and rouses from Southern California But they got to consolidate because anytime there is business mergers You just can't have that many stores that you own underneath one umbrella competing with each other So those are the reasons that the article stated. However, I think I have my own thoughts Let me know if you guys agree or disagree with them I think that quick service delivery such as Amazon Fresh You know for all the normal items the normie items that you can even get at a CVS Let alone Albertsons Rouser of Vans You could get that on Amazon Fresh as well or you can get it from a number of delivery services You know, obviously they're gonna vary per city. So it makes it even you know more normalized But you can't get that for the Asian items and also think it's very fun It's fun to browse for the Asian items in a way that it is not fun to browse at like a Ralph's even anymore Um, I think that also people want more specialized stores. Even if you look on the western side I think people want sprouts trader Joe's whole foods Obviously every year a baller and you want to spend 25 dollars on Six pack of eggs era one, you know, um, it's a meme at this point, right? Um, I also think that You know Asian supermarkets ethnic supermarkets such as Viada They're almost like a community gathering place in a way that you know, maybe Traditional American middle America markets were a gathering place for the American community in the 1930s or 40s or 50s or 60s But that is perhaps a bygone era, but the Asian community might still very much be in that place technically Also, I think that you know to be honest the Asians, you know, the Asian companies the way they operate they keep a lot of cash They're looking for good prices, you know the American items They're looking the Americans they're looking to sell for good prices because like we said They got consolidation that they're trying to make happen on a business side. So I think that that's just like a business Transactional equation aspect of it. I also think who else is gonna replace a bunch of Rosses and Halloween stores and shut down Burlington co-factories and TJ Maxx's as you know retail begins to shut down Check out the feces I just saw some am a monnier threes, but of course, yeah, they probably you know Those were from you know, the real ones are made in Shenzhen too, but also the the non real ones I also think that you get an aspect at ethnic grocers of exploring a new world that you're not gonna get at a traditional American grocery store Maybe if you were an air one you'd be like, oh man, I wish I could get that 18 dollar bottles of kombucha. That's like, you know So tiny but like, you know that that's almost like a luxury voyeurism. We're talking about cultural voyeurism You can get your Bourdain on Just by being in these like crazy Places that you know, obviously you're seeing a lot of things you didn't grow up with snacks products drinks The advertisements are using k-pop c-pop J drama anime characters, you know, just all this stuff where it's like man, where am I? This is like another planet So I think that that can contribute also to the higher profitability per square foot that these ethnic markets are turning That are obviously just like statistically showing up on their balance sheets. Anyway, let's get into the comments section somebody said yes, I do think that Hmart tends to have the best quality better than Vaughn's or Rouse 99 ranch is 50 50 I mean, I think it varies per one, but yeah, traditionally, I would say that Hmart is the most expensive and the most upscale However TNT market, which is in upscale Taiwanese Chinese market is coming from Canada to the American market So, um, yeah, you know, there's a variance I think even 99 ranch owns like three different verticals that are like branded three different ways and Mitsua, obviously the Japanese market has always been very nice and expensive Other people were talking about the seafood counter the seafood counter probably maybe being like It's like fresher and there's higher turnover because Asians eat more seafood than Western people, but it also might be more intimidating I think that I could agree with that I could see that, you know, just the veggies are gonna look different Obviously, like we said the seafood very high turnover because a lot of Asian coastal countries they eat a lot of seafood However, just the nature of grabbing the fish or the lobster out of the tank And then like either killing it or giving it to you live in a bag. Yeah, I could see that culturally Just being really really really different compared to like what you are expecting from a Western market Some people were saying, you know What about once these Asian markets become the thing that they were that like they're putting out a business like once H-mart or 99 ranch become such a multi trillion dollar business They start putting out Asian mom and pops out of business and I do think there's a couple aspects of that I do think that's the flow of capitalism But also like it probably won't you know, it probably won't get to that level if it ever does Honestly for like another 20 30 years, but it'll be interesting to see I don't know if you can become like too big to the point where people don't like you anymore But yeah, I mean it's possible, but I don't know I just think that that probably is gonna be pretty far down the road if we get there and Yeah, long story short guys, you guys can check out the article below. There's a couple good quotes in there Um, basically it was saying like, you know, people just do not want to eat Salisbury steak anymore But you know, I'm not gonna lie people will probably eat in Salisbury steak like In the 40s in the 50s, so I don't know how I don't know when the last time that's been popping was maybe 1980s late 80s, but anyway, um, I just think that America's changing I think with the class mobility that Asian Americans have had It's gonna increase the cultural profile. What's the cultural profile increases? You're folding in different consumption demographics that weren't normally eating Asian products You know, I mean like they think it's cool now like a lot of kids maybe back in a day, you know, you saw all those Forms and symposiums and academia talking about oh man My kids get made fun of for bringing dumplings and chopsticks and soy sauce or whatever whatever the school But now kids probably in 2023 obviously it varies what neighborhood you're in and what socioeconomic class and what kind of crowd Your kid is hanging out with I would say obviously a larger ratio than ever. They want to try it They want to have the Asian items, you know, so at the end of the day, I just think that It's a dope. It's dope. I mean, you know, it's cool to see that these Asian markets ethnic markets even viada I've been there a couple times. They have great Carniceria and they got great beef and they got great guacamole and stuff like that So it's like it's cool to see them finding their place in America And I do think a lot of these trends are gonna be spearheaded in Southern California first As well as select parts of the Northeast Because those are the most like I guess ethnic enclave heavy zones where Bay Area as well where people are kind of like getting into Not just first gen and large numbers But maybe even second and third gen and large numbers as well And I'll be interested to see how these, you know, H marks 99 ranches and different things evolve Are they gonna change the seafood counter to be something that more fits like How will Westerner likes to eat? See a crab. I don't know. Let me know what you guys think in the comment section below Hope you guys had fun on this walking talk episode of the hot pot boys. I had fun making it testing out the Osmo pocket 3 Anyway guys, let me know what you guys think until next time with a hot pot boys. We out. Peace