"In 2020, this doesn't feel like the way people interface with these cuisines anymore," said Vanessa Pham, a cofounder of the direct-to-consumer startup Omsom, a maker of Asian meal starter kits.

Asian condiments should be next to Western condiments," Pham told Business Insider.

At one time, Italian food was considered "ethnic." That changed when people started to think of Italian Americans as white.

Kim Pham, Vanessa's sister and the other cofounder of Omsom, told Business Insider the ethnic aisle reinforces "othering.".

"We're kind of dumped in it," Sana Javeri Kadri, the founder of the spice company Diaspora Co., told Business Insider.

And while the "ethnic" aisle provides founders with opportunities to "authentically express their cultures," it also means the "ethnic" food companies end up competing for very little shelf space, Miguel Garza, the CEO of Siete Family Foods, told Business Insider