February 2025
The UK’s love affair with Japanese food
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, we take a closer look at how the UK’s love affair with Japanese food ignited.
The UK’s love affair with Japanese food
Japanese food has definitely proved a slow burn when it comes to winning over UK consumers. It has, arguably, been decades in the making, if you consider the earliest rumblings of the cuisine, in terms of Japanese-inspired food chains, first appeared in the 90s with the likes of Wagamama (1992) and YO! Sushi (1997).
It is not surprising that Brits have taken a while to warm to Japanese cuisine. Raw fish, seaweed and umami broths are/were a serious departure from typical British fare.
However, the UK’s love affair with Japanese flavours is now burning brighter than ever. Once mysterious terms like sushi, miso, katsu and yakitori are now common parlance among foodie Brits, with supermarket sales of Japanese food firmly on the rise. The cuisine is now widely available in supermarkets, restaurants and takeaways across the country and, there is no doubt, Japanese cuisine has finally become a much-loved addition to the British menu.
This surge in demand can largely be attributed to a growing interest in health and well-being. Japanese cuisine makes for one of the healthiest diets on the planet, with Japan enjoying some of the lowest obesity rates and longest lifespans of the modern world.
Minimally processed, rich in nutrients (including iodine rich seaweed), gut friendly fermented ingredients – Japanese food is a wonderful combination of low calorie/high nutrition, while being flavour-packed and seductively savoury with its umami undertones.
Sushi, in particular, which was once a very alien concept to UK consumers, has received a big push from the healthy eating brigade in recent years. A tasty mix of rice, protein and iodine rich seaweed, it has become a fantastic mealtime option or on the go snack for health conscious shoppers. It is joined by miso paste, ginger, fermented vegetables, mushrooms and matcha which all possess, health boosting super food qualities.
Interestingly, Japanese cuisine has managed to straddle the comfort food market too, with traditional Japanese fried foods such as tempura, karaage, tonkatsu, as well the dessert mochi ice cream, widening its appeal for the Friday night ‘eat in’ audience.
A recent surge in popularity is almost certainly being driven by a young, social media savvy audience with a love for world food flavours. Endless Tik Tok video content is devoted to everything from ‘creating the ultimate bowl of warm and comforting ramen’, to ‘novelty mochi’ and ‘how to make your own sushi at home’. Japanese cuisine really has something for everyone.
It might have taken the best part of 35 years to become a serious contender on the UK food scene, but it is well and truly established today, with Google search volumes for Japanese and sushi continuing to rise year on year.
UK home cooks are also becoming increasingly keen to whip up Japanese at home, inspired by their favourite restaurants.
Akira is on a mission to make ‘Japanese night in’ a whole lot easier, with its range of popular sides and snacks.
Isn’t it time you discovered your love for Japanese cuisine.
The Akira range is available from selected Asda and Morrisons stores.