STUDY: HISPANICS WANT, USE COUPONS
LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. -- The majority of Hispanic consumers are price-conscious and use coupons, though not as frequently as the overall consumer market, according to a new study.
A direct correlation exists between the acculturation level, or the process of learning a second culture, and coupon use, according to NCH Marketing Services' first-ever Hispanic coupon survey.
The study showed that 75% of Hispanics with high acculturation reported using coupons, compared to 62% with medium acculturation and 55% with low acculturation. NCH evaluated acculturation based on several factors, including the amount of time spent speaking Spanish and watching Spanish-speaking TV programs.
"There's a preconceived notion that the Hispanic coupon user is a small portion of the population. But we found that's not true," said Charles Brown, vice president, marketing, NCH here, a coupon processor. The survey is based on telephone interviews with 300 households in August 2002. NCH plans to have it available for sale next month.
Forty-six percent of Hispanics identified themselves as price-conscious, or buying the least expensive product all the time. Another 25% described themselves as promotion-sensitive, or aware of sales, coupons and discounts; 11%, brand-loyal, purchase regardless of price; and 13%, time-crunched, buy what is available fastest and easiest.
While Hispanic coupon use is strong, it's not as high as the overall consumer market. Forty-six percent of Hispanics said they "always" or "sometimes" use coupons, compared to 56% of overall consumers who said the same in the NCH 2002 Consumer Survey.
There are several reasons for this. Among them: Fewer Hispanic consumers buy or receive a Sunday newspaper that includes coupons (50% vs. 76% of consumers overall). Also, fewer buy products with Universal Product Codes, and more don't understand the couponing process.
Brands Use Recipes To Entice Consumers
MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- The Campbell Soup Co., Kraft Foods, Dole Food Co. and Hormel Foods Corp. were among the exhibitors in the first-ever Taste of Home Cooking Expo, a cooking showcase for consumers.
During the two-day event, held at the Midwest Express Center here last month, consumer packaged goods marketers featured new products, shared recipes and distributed coupons.
Campbell's participated in the show to get more involved in grassroots marketing, said Patti Ciniglio, consumer promotion associate, Campbell's, Camden, N.J. "Events like this let us create a closer relationship between our brands and the consumer," she said. Taste of Home is a national food magazine with a circulation of 4.5 million. Published by Reiman Publications, Greendale, Wis., Taste of Home, along with its sister magazines, Quick Cooking and Light & Tasty, staged hour-long cooking demonstrations at the Expo.
June Crawford, managing director, Reiman Publications, said attendees benefited by positioning their brands as part of recipes.
"People who follow recipes are brand-loyal," Crawford said. "If you give them a recipe for a specific ingredient, say a Nestle morsel, they won't make it with anything else but that ingredient."
Organic Standards Spawn New Marketing Tool
WASHINGTON -- Consumer packaged goods marketers have begun rolling out new labels in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's new organic certification program.
Among them: The Hain Celestial Group, Melville, N.Y., said it has "fully completed its preparations" for the standards. The company says 349 stockkeeping units companywide -- including its Earth's Best and Garden of Eatin' brands -- can carry the "USDA Organic" seal, and 189 SKUs can labeled "made with organic ingredients."
Boulder, Colo.-based Horizon Organic Holding Corp., meanwhile, said all of its Horizon Organic products will eventually carry the "USDA Organic" seal. Already, its milk and pudding products -- as well as its new Fruit Jels, organic gel snacks -- carry the seal. Chuck Marcy, president and chief executive officer, Horizon, said, "We at Horizon Organic are honored that the USDA has put their support behind federal regulations that will provide validity to the organic market and peace of mind for consumers."
To raise awareness about USDA certification, Horizon is conducting in-store sampling and will publish a consumer circular highlighting the benefits of organic food.
Under the new national guidelines, which went into effect late last month, food labeled "organic" must be produced without hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, irradiation, chemical or sewer sludge fertilizer or genetically modified organisms.
