Store check: Ethnic markets in Berlin – Part 2: Asian food markets
In the first part of our new series ‘Store Check: Ethnic Markets in Berlin,’ we took an in-depth look at Turkish food markets in Germany’s capital. The second part is now devoted to Asian grocery stores, which differ greatly from Turkish and traditional German supermarkets. We begin by describing general design features and then move on to specific products and product groups.
First impressions of Asian grocery stores
Asian markets are characterised by innovative and creative packaging designs with lots of colours and humorous elements, as well as a wide selection of foods and products that seem foreign and exotic to German consumers. They reflect the completely different habits of Asian people and those of Asian descent. This applies not only to nutrition and the use of certain products, but also to expectations regarding graphic design and the arrangement of products on the shelves.
Illustrations as a recurring design feature
Illustrations are one of the most striking design features of packaging in Asian food markets. They can be found in almost all product categories. Mascots and similar characters are particularly prominent and shape the brand image of many items. The ‘cuteness’ factor is widespread: lovable, playful, sometimes childlike characters are found not only on the confectionery shelves, but also on everyday products such as teas, sauces and snacks. Unlike in Western markets, where such characters are usually only used for children’s products, Asian brands explicitly target all age groups with these ‘cute’ design approaches. The emotional and identity-forming power of these ‘personalities’ is consistently exploited and often ensures high recognition value.
Manga/anime with their distinctive emotions
Manga and anime characters and the exaggerated emotions associated with them play a major role in the illustration trend. They function as a central cultural design element. Numerous packaging designs feature manga-inspired designs with characters that laugh, cry or express surprise, often in a highly stylised form. This visual exaggeration has an emotional impact, causing some people to identify with the characters and others to simply find them amusing. In any case, designs featuring manga illustrations are generally well received.
Traditional products with traditional designs
Classic, traditional products naturally have a firm place in Asian food markets. Brands often continue to rely on consistently traditional designs, especially for items such as sake, sesame oil and spices, which are typical of Asian cuisine. Domestic scripts (such as Japanese or Chinese) dominate here, often simple but integrated in a high-quality manner. This design restraint conveys cultural roots and thus authenticity – a deliberate contrast to the often playful, illustrative presentation of other product groups.
Harmonious design of the front and back
The design focus is not only on the front of the packaging; the back also plays a central role in the design concept. Japanese products in particular clearly demonstrate how strongly the visual narrative extends across both sides. Patterns, textures and illustrative elements are used throughout, giving the packaging a distinctly consistent and high-quality look. The backs are often printed with detailed instructions for use or preparation, stylistically matched to the front design. This creates a holistic packaging experience in which even functional information is given visual importance. A very nice example is the green packaging with panda illustrations: when you turn the bag around, the scene continues in a playful way. Even on more traditionally designed products, patterns, frames and visually staged quotes from Asian culture adorn both the front and back – a clear commitment to attention to detail in design.
Playing with typography
Many brands deliberately opt for purely typographic communication. The product itself is often displayed in large, eye-catching lettering at the centre of the design. The Tofu, Hello Panda and Hello product ranges show how the interplay of font and colour can be used to create very clear and emotional variety coding. The only design constant in Hello packaging is the black lid; the font and background colours change depending on the flavour and, in combination, form the visual variety key. Another example is the Samyang Tangle brand, whose typographic design was clearly inspired by the shape of a common noodle. The letters with irregular lines create a playful, almost tactile look. Although the exact design varies slightly depending on the specific product type, the brand remains instantly recognisable, not least thanks to its typographic creativity.
Finishing with spot varnish
Another interesting aspect is the targeted use of spot varnish. This finishing technique is used to create depth or other visual accents. For example, individual food shots are partially varnished, while the rest of the packaging retains a matt surface. The result is an effective contrast that makes flat motifs appear almost three-dimensional – a visual trick that creates a more direct, realistic product experience, especially with non-transparent packaging.
Glossy designs
Aesthetic designs with a touch of glamour are very popular for packaging in Asian food markets. Glossy surfaces are omnipresent – whether as selective finishes, striking frames or entire backgrounds. The use of gold foil is particularly striking and is used in many product categories, from traditional remedies to trendy snacks. Sometimes the shiny foils are even given an additional coat of varnish, creating a two-stage gloss effect and lending the packaging a special visual depth. These shiny elements can be seen on packaging in a wide variety of styles, from traditional to modern. The use of gloss – especially gold foil – makes even simpler products such as ginseng tea or spice mixes appear high-quality and almost luxurious.
Milky instead of fully transparent
Unlike Western brands, which are increasingly offering completely transparent packaging, the Asian market often prefers a semi-transparent look. This slightly milky design can be found, for example, on flour, rice cakes, pre-baked cakes and bubbles for the popular bubble teas. The packaging is usually printed as well, which, in combination with the soft milky transparency, creates an exciting visual effect.
Well-known Western brands in adapted designs
One of the things that surprised us most during our store check of Asian food markets in Berlin was how internationally renowned Western brands deal with their presence in this culturally completely different context. Well-known brands such as Oreo, Coca-Cola and Knorr are presented here in adapted, country-specific forms. In the case of Oreo biscuits, the brand name is not even written in Latin script on the packaging. Nevertheless, the brand is immediately recognisable thanks to its corporate colours, visual category codes and deliberate placement on the shelf, even if you cannot decipher the Chinese or Japanese script. In principle, a comparison between Asian and Western variants reveals subtle differences: the different use of fonts, shadows, colour areas, levels and food shots shows how local design culture comes through even in global brands.
Bags as a popular packaging solution
It is striking how many products are sold in bags. Almost everything seems to be available in this form: from tea, rice, dried fruit and sweets to marinated eggs, sauces and dried squid. The bag not only serves as a practical packaging solution, but also as an eye-catching advertising space. Its large front provides plenty of room for branding, illustrations and emotional communication.
Paper alternative for greater sustainability
We would like to highlight one of these bags because it has a “green” touch: Obap’s packaging is designed like a classic stand-up pouch, but is made of paper instead of the usual plastic. This solution ensures that the packaging is familiar to users while also offering the benefit of a more sustainable material choice. Considering how “plastic-loving” some Asian countries are (with the corresponding impact on the environment…), this is certainly a remarkable approach.
Expanding advertising space for small-format products
Small-format packaging presents brands (and packaging designers) with the challenge of using the limited space available efficiently to achieve appealing, effective branding without visually overloading the packaging. The Vietnamese brand Bao Long shows how this can work with its soup cubes: Here, a small additional advertising space has been developed and attached to the packaging as a pop-up element. This extension gives the product, which is still very small, greater visibility on the shelf. Whether the solution is compatible with the principle of packaging reduction remains questionable; nevertheless, it is undoubtedly a creative approach to maximising brand impact in a minimal space.
Unusual packaging shapes
While we’re on the subject of unusual packaging shapes, during our store check of Asian food markets in Berlin, we discovered a few more special packaging formats, for example in the beverage section, where aloe vera and coconut-based products are particularly well represented, but there is also a wide variety in terms of shape. In addition to classic bottles and cans, as we know them from German supermarkets, there are some alternative variants: for example, bags of syrups that can be mixed with water, practical to-go solutions for shakes and teas, transparent beverage cans, aluminium cans for well-known soft drinks such as Fanta and Coca-Cola, and glass bottles in anything but conventional shapes. Other product categories also feature striking packaging concepts: in the squeeze pouch segment, for example, there are surprisingly round and playful formats for mayonnaise. Even spreads and compotes in glass containers stand out thanks to extra-large or decoratively designed lids, some of which feature patterns or branding.
Tea – an essential part of Asian culture
Tea is deeply rooted in Asian culture – comparable to the role that spices play in Turkish food markets. Traditionally designed tea packaging is therefore very common. It often comes in partially cut-out or milky transparent bags, decorated with classic patterns and serif fonts. Nevertheless, a certain change is also visible here: modern products such as bubble tea kits appeal to a younger audience with playful, humorous illustrations. The mix of tradition and innovation ensures a wide range of products and a varied look on the tea shelf.
Snacks and desserts
In the snack section, apart from mochi, which we have dedicated a separate section to, we came across lots of crunchy treats. These include long or unusually shaped crisps, crispy rice crackers and a wide variety of biscuits. Here, too, the design spectrum ranges from colourful and playful – often with appealing characters and clear colour coding for easy, intuitive differentiation between varieties – to understated, modern and minimalist packaging.
Healthy snacks
Some of the snacks available in Asian grocery stores appear healthier than most of the products we are used to seeing in British supermarkets – both inside and out. These are often bite-sized snacks made from dried vegetables or seaweed, which have a more subtle flavour and are therefore milder than the often heavily salted or otherwise seasoned crisps produced by most Western brands. The packaging design often reflects these characteristics, with natural colours, minimalist food shots or clean, purist designs.
Mochi
Healthy snacks are all well and good, but Asian consumers (and lovers of Asian cuisine) are not willing or able to give up sweet treats entirely. Mochis are a particularly iconic product in the Asian snacking universe. These small Japanese rice cakes are available from countless brands in a wide variety of flavours, packaging formats and designs. As with many other product categories, the design varies from lovingly traditional to modern and minimalist. The latter approach is particularly common with ice cream mochi. Some designs stand out with playful, sometimes humorous and funny illustrations. Asian brands are taking advantage of the popularity of these snacks to experiment creatively with design codes.
Exciting: soft cakes in three different styles
What we just said about mochi basically applies to other soft cakes as well – except that they don’t have the same status in Asian snack culture. But when it comes to design, it’s pretty much the same story: we noticed three fundamentally different design approaches for this product category: manga style, classic-traditional and modern-minimalist. This stylistic diversity once again illustrates how differently Asian brands can interpret one and the same product type.
(Other) desserts
A colourful, playful imagery dominates the dessert section. In addition to mochi, which, as already mentioned, are ubiquitous, Asian food markets mainly offer puddings and jellies in a variety of shapes and flavours. The colour scheme is striking: many products are presented in either delicate pastel shades or, in stark contrast, in bold colours, with the food shots often heavily edited and looking less realistic. Nevertheless, the respective treat is made visible through transparency – often in the aforementioned milky version, which has a soft, almost magical appeal.
Ready-made products for reheating
When strolling through the shops, the large selection of ready-made products for reheating immediately catches the eye. The typical Asian noodle bowls in particular are available in an impressive variety, both in terms of types and presentation. In addition to classic microwaveable cups, the shops also offer more practical options that only need to be filled with hot water. Several of these products are even designed to be eaten on the go, which further emphasises the convenience factor. Some brands, such as Nissin with its Cup Noodles, are also known outside the Asian market; However, most brands seem to be specifically targeted at the Asian community with their authentic branding. In terms of design, we have encountered a wide range of solutions, from traditional to ultra-modern packaging. The consistent colour coding, which enables clear differentiation between varieties, is particularly impressive. Manga/anime characters often complement the visual concept.
Pre-cooked and marinated eggs
Pre-cooked and marinated eggs are another popular and important product segment in Asian food markets. They are typically packaged in plastic, unlike in Western markets, where pre-cooked and fresh eggs are generally sold in cardboard cartons. Despite the uniform packaging material, the specific types of packaging vary considerably: in addition to plastic trays, there are also printed bags, some of which deliberately imitate the feel and texture of paper to create a more natural look. The designs themselves are again very diverse – from traditional motifs and classic food shots to playful illustrations with mascots or comic figures and tongue-in-cheek humour, there is something for everyone.
Nothing outstanding in the spices
Unlike in most departments, we didn’t notice anything particularly spectacular in the spices section. Only one product, or rather its packaging, managed to catch our attention: a spice mix in a glass jar with a plastic lid. This combination of materials may not be revolutionary, but it combines stability with ease of use, making it extremely user-friendly.
Uniquely stocked freezer section
The frozen food range differs significantly from the usual selection found in German or Western shops in general. The freezers in Asian grocery stores are dominated by buns and dumplings with various fillings, ranging from savoury to sweet. Once again, colour differences are mainly used to differentiate between the different varieties. Apart from the small rolls and dumplings, the freezers contain numerous fish products, reflecting the central role of fish in Asian food culture. Whole fish, fillets and ready-made fish snacks – all this and more is available frozen, in packaging that is often characterised by realistic food shots and, in some cases, also refined.
Tableware for Asian cuisine
In addition to a wide range of traditional foods, some Asian markets also sell cups, mugs, bowls, plates and other tableware specially designed for Asian cuisine and culture. These products are available in a wide variety of designs and qualities and complement the range in both practical and emotional terms.
Finally, the unusual story of the Lao Gan Ma brand
Lao Gan Ma is a speciality and almost a myth in Asian food markets: a brand that has developed from a by-product of a noodle stand into a cult brand that came about more or less by accident.
It all began in 1989 with Tao Huabi, a penniless widow in a small Chinese village who became famous for her homemade chilli crisp sauce. Her customers came for the sauce, not the noodles. So she did the obvious: she stopped selling noodles and focused on what really caught on.
Tao Huabi’s face still adorns every bottle today – not as a marketing tool, but as a real, personalised testimony to the brand’s origins and heritage. It is precisely this uncompromising authenticity, combined with a strong product and fair price, that has made Lao Gan Ma what many marketers dream of: a brand that has spread organically and unintentionally – without any conventional advertising.
Instead of classic communication, Tao relied on sampling: truck drivers were given jars, which they distributed throughout the country – each jar a culinary spark, each bite the beginning of a viral moment…
Lao Gan Ma is a prime example of design without calculation, but with maximum impact. The packaging is angular, iconic, unmistakable – not through design sophistication, but through honesty. The framed portrait of Tao Huabi almost looks like a seal that stands for genuine spiciness, genuine taste and genuine origin. She is not an interchangeable mascot, but a real founding figure who, despite numerous copies and counterfeits, became the face of a product that became a household staple throughout China and later worldwide.
It was only through social media during the pandemic that Lao Gan Ma found its way into Western kitchens – carried by food bloggers, TikTokers and YouTube chefs who declared the unique crunch of the chilli crisp sauce their culinary discovery. During this time, sales figures exploded around the globe.
Even though it may seem that way, the brand has not been changed, Westernised or repositioned. It has remained true to itself – and that is precisely why it has become so successful.
Lao Gan Ma is a prime example of what many brands desperately try to imitate: an iconic aura born of product quality, consistency and authenticity. The story of Tao Huabi shows that a global brand can emerge even without an advertising strategy, corporate language or branding campaigns – if the product is right. And if you have the courage not to betray your own values.
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