Americans are expanding their taste for ethnic cuisines, as some flavors that were once considered exotic have entered the mainstream, according to market research organization Mintel.

Italian, Mexican and Asian foods have become so commonplace in the United States that they are hardly considered ethnic anymore, Mintel said. But lesser-known ethnic foods, such as Japanese, Caribbean and Thai, have seen a surge in popularity. In 2010, Mintel’s Global New Products Database (GNPD) found a 230 percent increase in the number of new products containing ‘Japanese’ in the product description compared to 2009, a 150 percent increase in new foods described as ‘Caribbean’, and a 68 percent increase in Thai foods.

Senior analyst at Mintel David Lockwood said: "Italian, Mexican and Asian cuisine are the more mainstream, popular ethnic cuisines. But Thai, Caribbean and Japanese foods are seeing healthy growth, and consumers seem to be getting more comfortable with a wider variety of ethnic flavors."

Mintel’s GNPD results suggest that the trend for more exotic ethnic flavors now reaches beyond what consumers might try when they eat out at restaurants, as packaged food companies look to capitalize on the trend.

The market research organization said that one of the major drivers behind consumers’ appetite for more exotic flavors in the home is growing interest in television cookery shows, as well as access to media that feature foods that are popular in other countries. Twenty-six percent of consumers eating ethnic foods that are not common to their ethnic background said they had been inspired to try new flavors and ingredients after seeing them used on TV, or in newspapers and magazines.