Asian Heritage Brands Reshaping Retail: A Survey Spotlight

From Cult Classics to Grocery Staples: Scaling AANHPI Brands with Retail Intelligence

Across grocery aisles nationwide, a quiet revolution is underway. What was once considered “specialty” is becoming an everyday staple in Grocery stores.

Consumers are seeking authentic flavors, global influence, and design-forward products and AANHPI (Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander) founders and heritage brands are leading this shift. As these brands scale into mainstream grocery, retail execution and in-store visibility become critical to sustained growth.

The Rise of Heritage Flavors in Grocery

Authenticity is no longer a differentiator, it’s an expectation.

Brands like Fly By Jing illustrate the path: starting as a DTC favorite and expanding into major retailers like Whole Foods and Costco. What begins as a cult following increasingly translates into velocity at shelf.

For retailers, these brands are not just additive they’re becoming core to assortment strategy and category growth.

The Reality of Scaling CPG Brands in Retail

Breaking into retail is one challenge. Scaling within it is another.

As emerging brands expand from regional or specialty banners into national chains, three operational gaps tend to surface:

1. Availability gaps
   Rapid expansion can outpace execution. Inventory may be in the system but not consistently on the shelf.
2. Elevated in-store expectations
   Shoppers accustomed to high-engagement retailers like H Mart or 99 Ranch expect more from merchandising to discoverability than traditional grocery environments often deliver.
3. Limited visibility into “why”
   Sales data shows outcomes, not causes. When performance dips, brands are often left guessing between pricing, placement, compliance, or competition.

AANHPI and Global Brands to Watch on Shelf

Across categories, a mix of AANHPI-founded brands and global Asian heritage leaders, including Survey clients, are successfully navigating the transition to scaled retail:

• Fly By Jing – Modern Sichuan pantry staple built by Asian founder Jing Gao, now scaling into national grocery
• Bachan’s – Japanese barbecue sauce rooted in family recipes with strong retail traction
• Sanzo – Asian-inspired sparkling water redefining the soda set in natural and mainstream channels
• Deep Indian Kitchen – Indian-owned brand modernizing frozen and prepared meals for U.S. consumers
• LARQ (Survey client) – Design-forward hydration brand founded by Asian entrepreneur Justin Wang

Global heritage brands:

• Royal (LT Foods Americas) (Survey client) – A leading U.S. basmati rice brand backed by a multi-generational Indian food company
• Mayora (Survey client) – Indonesian-founded global snack and confectionery company behind brands like Kopiko

While each brand has a distinct go-to-market approach, all face the same challenge: delivering consistent on-shelf availability (OSA) and execution at scale.

Why Retail Execution Becomes the Growth Lever

At scale, growth is no longer driven by awareness alone it depends on execution.

Distribution does not guarantee visibility. Placement does not guarantee purchase. Without strong retail execution, even high-demand products can underperform.

Learn how brands improve performance through retail execution strategies and merchandising.

The Survey Edge: Turning Shelf Data into Action

At Survey, we focus on what happens in-store where purchase decisions are made.

Our retail intelligence platform helps brands close the gap between distribution and performance:

• On-Demand Execution
  A flexible, nationwide workforce supports merchandising, display builds, and in-store compliance when and where it matters most.
• Photo-Verified Store Audits
  In-store conditions are captured and validated in real time, helping teams identify and address issues like out-of-stocks, misplaced products, or non-compliant displays.
• Actionable Retail Insights
  By connecting in-store signals to outcomes, brands can move beyond reacting to results understanding root causes and taking faster action.

The result: stronger shelf presence, more consistent execution, and fewer missed opportunities during critical growth phases.

From Breakout Brand to Retail Staple

The next generation of grocery leaders is already on shelf.

The brands that win will not just achieve distribution; they will maintain visibility, consistency, and execution as they scale.

Ready to scale your retail execution?

See how Survey helps CPG brands improve on-shelf availability, merchandising execution, and in-store visibility.

Talk to our team