Tastes of U.S. Yuppies Spreading to Europe : International: Alligator steaks, California wines, low-calorie dishes and hickory chips blaze the overseas trail.

Alligator steaks in Britain, California wines in France and Texas-style barbecues in West Germany are part of what some Agriculture Department observers say is a move by European yuppies to go up-scale American.

“The marketing niche of young, urban professionals, or yuppies, that originated in the United States has spread to Europe as well,” says the department’s Foreign Agricultural Service.

But while sellers in Europe “are targeting young and affluent consumers for their upscale consumption and bulging wallets,” the agency said it may be a bit early to predict whether U.S. exporters can benefit significantly.

“Whatever the European country, yuppie food tastes have common preferences for high quality, convenience and innovation,” said Mark Condon, a trade show manager for the USDA agency.

“These qualities are part of the market of the future,” he said. “In our upcoming food exhibits in Europe, we have a lot of the kinds of products that would appeal to yuppies.”

Those include: low-calorie and low-fat health foods, non-alcoholic beers, hickory chips for barbecue fires, ethnic foods, picture-perfect produce, California wines, and foods with no preservatives or additives.

“Europeans are market-savvy people,” Condon said. “Items must be of top quality. They can’t be cheap or discounted.”

The rise of yuppie food interests in Europe is described in the forthcoming December issue of AgExporter magazine published by the agency.

“As in the United States, the European yuppie market is small,” the report said. “But yuppies are trend-setters and innovators, often the first to try a new food or fashion. Later, their tastes and preference trickle down to other segments of the population, gradually being adopted by a broader audience.”

So it is important to know what European yuppies are currently consuming, the report added. Their tastes, however unusual today, could be the general rule tomorrow.

Dale Good, U.S. agricultural trade officer in Hamburg, said the appeal of American foods to European yuppies varies from country to country. For example, in West Germany the products have to be compatible with German food traditions.

“The concept of eating cuisines from other countries is just emerging,” Good said.

But in Italy, the opposite seems to be the case, says U.S. agricultural counselor for Rome, Frank Piason. The current rage is for ethnic food, especially Tex-Mex, in the land of pasta.

“For the Italian yuppie, the focus is on lighter eating and less fatty food,” Piason said. “The Italian yuppie is likely to consume pasta salad or rice salad, rather than pasta, during lunch.”

Also, U.S. wines are popular with the young Italians, the report said. That’s also the case in France.

“While trying to sell U.S. wines in France might seem like bringing coal to Newcastle, the French are actually fascinated with U.S. wines,” said Holly Higgins, who recently completed a two-year assignment as U.S. agricultural attache in Paris.

So the “plugged-in group” in France goes for American wines and Tex-Mex specialties such as chili and enchiladas, she said.

Microwave ovens also are gaining in France, the land of the long-simmering sauce, Higgins said. Changes in life styles, more working women and less time for cooking are changing eating habits.

David Mergen, U.S. agricultural attache in Madrid, says, “Yes, Spain does have yuppies” and they can be found in the middle of the day at expensive restaurants close to where they work.

“Spanish yuppies prefer to eat dishes that are low in cholesterol and they also tend to drink lighter alcoholic drinks,” Mergen said. “Yuppies drink mineral water and fruit juices. They drink wine with meals, however, and gin and tonics in the evening.”

One of Mergen’s colleagues, Isabel Pastor, said the opening of several Madrid restaurants that serve American food has helped promote awareness of those foods. At least two of the restaurants have names such as “Hollywood” and “Boston,” she said.

In Britain, the preferences of yuppies are also highly varied and subject to changing moods of style and trend, said marketing specialist Christine Chapman of the U.S. agricultural trade office in London. But a few of the “in” foods are alligator steaks and spicy Creole cooking.

Chapman said organic foods are part of the yuppie menu, along with foreign items such as surimi, a processed fish product from Japan, Tex-Mex from the United States, and kedgeree, a dish originally from India of rice and chopped fish bound together with egg.

“Champagne is high on the list, particularly if it is laced with black currant juice or wine,” she said. New World wines from the United States and Chile are growing in popularity.

Even conservative Switzerland has a yuppie market, according to agricultural specialist Hansruedi Bachmann of the U.S. embassy in Bern. More than the average consumer, the Swiss yuppie is attracted by U.S. foods, especially California wines.

“Swiss yuppies, however, do not eat fast food,” Bachmann said. “Instead, they frequent luxury restaurants with an upscale, high-quality image.”