Chicken Yakitori skewers and Vegan Tofu Thai Curry are some of the exciting new dishes that could be making their way into Asda shoppers’ baskets as part of the retailer’s latest in-store trial.
The grocer announced today that it will be launching an exclusive partnership with Panku to open concessions in stores from March through to May of 2020.
Panku – which is Japanese for punk – will be opening 20 concessions in Asda stores across the UK. The brand was started by friends Neil Nugent and Andy Upton and brings together favourite flavours of Pan-Asian food from Japan, Korea and Thailand.
As well as their regular shopping, Asda customers will be able to pick up a range of freshly prepared pan-Asian streetfood meals and snacks in store such as Katsu Curry, hand-rolled sushi, plant-based meals, Korean bulgogi and noodles.
The new offer is the latest trial to be introduced to Asda stores and continues the retailer’s focus on ‘test and learn’ partnerships in 2020.
Asda announced earlier this month that it would be working with a number of brands in 2020, including Greggs, Just Eat and KellyDeli brand Sushi Daily, to bring new ‘Food to Go’ options to customers which complement the supermarket’s existing range.
Richard Dent, Vice President for Fresh at Asda, said: “As well as ensuring we’ve got great prices for our customers and make their shopping experience with us as easy as possible, we’re also investing in growing areas of our business that we know customers are really passionate about. In areas such as ‘Food to Go’, we want to make sure we’re offering our customers a great combination of groceries and ready to eat options.
“Panku is a great fit – it’s an innovative brand offering great value and quality food, with a bit of personality. We’re really excited to be working with them.”
Andy Upton, Founder at Panku, said: “Neil is a great chef with an almost incomparable experience of food culture through the job he does. We had been talking about our joint passion for experiential cooking and this was really the catalyst for Panku.
“We want to offer something fresh and delicious, which supports a number of lifestyle choices and emerging food trends, such as veganism and gut health. Yes, you are going to see traditional things such as our crowd pleaser chicken katsu curry, but you will also see our sushi burritos which will put a smile on your face.
“We’ve got a great team helping to make Panku a success and bring great tasting street food to Asda customers. We couldn’t have done it without the support of Asda and everyone at Taiko, part of the YO! Group.”
