The Hispanic market in the United States is growing by leaps and bounds, with California, Texas, New York, Florida and Illinois accounting for the largest slices of the pie.
$1 billion a month, says David Hayes-Baltista, director of the Latino Research Center at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Hispanics -- people of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban or Central or South American heritage or origin -- buy more than non-Hispanics at the supermarket, since they often have more children and eat more at home, according to Mike Trueblood, marketing director of Bradshaw International, a brokerage in Santa Fe Springs, Calif. They are also a younger population group compared to the mainstream.
"Hispanics spend $97 per week on groceries, while the average for non-Hispanics is $84," said Trueblood. "In southern California, the average age of the adult Hispanic is 24, while the average age for the non-Hispanic is 36."
Trueblood also cited national household statistics, which stand as 4.2 people per family for Hispanics, compared with 2.5 people per family for non-Hispanics.
Roughly 60% of the Hispanic population is Mexican-Americans or Mexican nationals, according to Flores, with 20% of Central or South American heritage, 10% Puerto Rican and 5% of Cuban background.
Mexican nationals appreciate imported groceries, although acculturated Hispanics also like get back to their roots and buy ethnic. Flores noted the North American Free Trade Agreement has made imported products more widely available.
For example, Cub Foods in Atlanta stocks the more predictable Mexican groceries in its Hispanic section, along with imported Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola and Fanta and Mexican soft drinks. The Mexican versions are made with sugar instead of corn syrup.
Flores advocates bilingual signage and personnel, integration of ethnic items and more cooking demonstrations for Mexican and Caribbean foods.
