What began as a family store serving predominantly South Asian customers has evolved into something far broader at Hassan and Brothers on Dudley Road, Birmingham.
Today, World Food is not simply one department within the business. It is the business.
The independent family store is now owned by Zubair Iqbal and Zafar Iqbal. Based in the Edgbaston/Winson Green area, the store has steadily reshaped its offer around the changing make-up and tastes of its customer base. At the centre of that transformation has been a growing focus on African-Caribbean food, which now accounts for around 60% of the business.
It is a significant shift from the store's original proposition and one that has been built gradually rather than through a sudden change of direction.
The family's retail story dates back to 1977, when the store's founder arrived in the UK. After years of working long hours, he joined his cousins in 1985 to open the family's first store on Dudley Road. The business initially catered largely to the local South Asian community.
In 2000, the family split, prompting the founder to make a major investment in the business. He bought an old timber yard opposite the original store, demolished it and developed an entirely new premises. Hassan and Brothers opened at the site in 2003.
For many years, the store continued to be predominantly South Asian-focused. But around 2015, the family began to see a growing opportunity in African-Caribbean food.
Rather than treating it as a niche addition to the existing range, the business gradually built its offer around the needs of this emerging customer base. By 2020, African-Caribbean products accounted for around 40% of the business. Today, that has risen to approximately 60%, with the African range set to expand further over the next two months.
The Nigerian and Ghanaian offer is particularly strong, covering everything from gari and pounded yam flours to palm oil, tilapia, pepper soup mixes and a wide range of seasonings.
But the scale of the World Food proposition is perhaps best illustrated by the numbers. Of approximately 10,000 products in the store, Ramzan estimates that more than 9,000 fall under the World Food umbrella.
That means the offer stretches well beyond a specialist African-Caribbean section, encompassing South Asian, Afro-Caribbean and other international foods under one roof.
It is also a mix of brands that balances familiarity with accessibility. UK-based World Food names including Tropical Sun, Puregrow and Jumbo sit alongside brands that customers may recognise from their home countries, such as Maggi and Peak.
That understanding of the customer appears to sit at the heart of Hassan and Brothers' evolution. The store has moved from serving one dominant community to becoming a much broader World Food destination, while continuing to build its range around the tastes and needs of the people shopping there.
And with the African range still expanding, the transformation of Hassan and Brothers looks far from finished.