Cargill Repositions Rumba Meat Line as Hispanic-focused Brand

Cargill, based in Minnetonka, Minn., is repositioning its Rumba line of fresh variety meats with an emphasis on Hispanic consumers, a segment of the U.S. population that enjoys and values traditional ethnic food. The new image is currently rolling out to retailers nationwide.

“We reviewed our existing Rumba positioning, compared it with our recently conducted consumer research and concluded that we needed to connect better with Hispanic consumers that represent the majority of Rumba purchasers,” said Carolina Tabares, senior brand manager for Rumba Meats. “Previously positioned as a multicultural product line, Rumba was trying to be too many things to too many consumer segments. We learned that Hispanic consumers are truly interested in a line of variety meats that allows them to enjoy traditional dishes by incorporating quality ingredients to create the eating experiences and flavors representative of their culture and heritage.”

Rumba’s marketing team explored numerous options, carefully selecting colors, images and words relevant to Hispanic consumers. Each element of Rumba’s new marketing effort – including its packaging, logo, point-of-sale materials, online advertising and tagline – was tested with consumers. Vibrant colors, such as red, blue, yellow and green hues that were selected for Rumba imagery, are common throughout Hispanic culture.

“We want Rumba to be a celebratory part of people’s lives, providing consumers with meat products that will help them produce authentic, traditional, dishes they told us they enjoy preparing for family meals,” noted Tabares. “Traditional dishes make Hispanic family mealtimes special, and we want Rumba Meats to help families make those gatherings memorable.

“Rumba also helps us celebrate the cultural diversity that enriches our society,” said Tabares, adding that the brand represents "nutritious, delicious, wholesome protein products that meet the needs of Hispanic consumers while providing our retail customers with an offering that is relevant to those consumers’ cultures and helps them grow their variety meats business.”

Marketing elements with Rumba’s new look include packaging, a Facebook page, website, digital banner ads, Pandora internet radio ads and retail point-of-sale elements. Most marketing elements incorporate what’s being called the “dancing lady” graphic, representing the culture, tradition and celebration the brand embodies.