Inci Food Centre: Specialist foods from the Far East to the Far West
Inci Food Centre on Roman Road is the corner shop that is always one step ahead of social media food trends.
Inci Food Centre perched on a corner of Roman Road is hard to miss, thanks to its vibrant orange storefront. Like most convenience stores it is open 7 days a week and even offers a home delivery service. But here is where the comparison with other convenience stores ends. Inci is much, much more.
Among its well-stocked, brightly-packaged products, you will not only be able to find your daily groceries but products from around the world. Everything from Chinese hot pot ingredients, and American Flamin hot Cheetos to Korean big-brand noodles.
Whilst browsing Inci’s shelves you will see many products that have and are going viral on social media platforms such as Blue Takies, Tajin seasoning, and Little Moon cakes. But many of these popular products were added to the store’s stock well before they became Tik Tok Famous.
Pradeep Simkhada, the owner of Inci, explains that this is one of the store’s greatest strengths. Simkhada is constantly monitoring trends so that the store is well-positioned to offer customers what they are desperately looking for, exactly when they are looking for it.
If a customer is not able to find a particular product, that’s no problem for Simkhada. Inci receives special requests on a weekly basis for products it does not stock and works hard to source them however hard to find.
Although Simkhada is able to source trending products, that doesn’t mean he will always choose to stock them. He drew the line at Prime Drinks, a soft drink created by YouTube stars KSI and Logan Paul who have a relatively young fan base. Prime is flying off shelves despite being sold for well above the recommended retail price, sometimes £100.
“I don’t want to sell a product that is targeted at children that has such a high price. That would be unethical”, said Simkhada.
Inci has come a long way since it opened its bright orange doors in 2014. It has gone from a convenience store to an international supermarket and will continue to build on its success by expanding its product range.
And this is why Inci is so loved by those in the know on Roman Road. You will always leave with an impulse buy that puts a smile on your face.
