Edge cases, single-cuisine specialty (Korean-only) vs full pan-Asian / multi-cuisine?
Both work on Magento, but the scope shifts.
Single-cuisine specialty (e.g. Korean-only DTC like H Mart competitor):
- ~500-3,000 SKUs typically. Single store view (English) or two (English + Korean).
- One certification regime primary (Halal less relevant; FDA labeling primary). Hindu-veg / Jain irrelevant. Kosher rare but appearing in some Korean products via OU certs on imported flour, etc.
- One festival cycle: Lunar NY + Chuseok (Korean mid-autumn). Smaller surge than Diwali but real.
- Brand portals matter less, you’re curating Korean brands (Nongshim, Ottogi, Samyang, Daesang, CJ Foods). Maybe 5-8 brand portals total.
- Diaspora gifting still ~20% of orders (US → Korea, but smaller than US → India volume).
- Build sprint $4,999 typically covers this scope.
Full pan-Asian / multi-cuisine (e.g. Weee! competitor, Patel-Brothers-style with Indian + Latin + Chinese):
- 5,000-30,000+ SKUs. 3-5 store views (English + Hindi + Arabic + Mandarin + Spanish typical).
- All four cert regimes active (Halal + Kosher + Hindu-veg + Jain). Compliance-aware bundles essential.
- Full festival calendar (Diwali + Eid + Lunar NY + Holi + Onam + Ramadan + Mid-Autumn + Nowruz).
- 20+ brand portals (Patel + MTR + Haldiram + Gits + Maggi + Nongshim + El Yucateco + Goya + La Costeña + Lee Kum Kee + Kalustyan’s + more).
- International diaspora gifting to 6+ countries.
- B2B layer common (restaurant + caterer wholesale).
- Custom enterprise engagement, multi-week, $25k, $70k+.
Hybrid (most common in practice): single-cuisine primary + adjacent cuisines as 2nd-priority categories. E.g. Indian-primary store also stocking Pakistani / Bangladeshi / Sri Lankan items because the South Asian diaspora overlaps. Or Korean-primary also stocking Japanese.
Magento handles either shape cleanly, the architecture is the same, just the scope grows. Start single-cuisine, expand to adjacent cuisines once the cert/festival/brand-portal patterns are stable. That’s the path Patel Brothers, H Mart, and Sahadi’s all walked.