World Leaders
As ethnic populations grow, so does demand for authentic grocery products.
It's no secret that international food products and recipes are growing ever more popular with Americans, but one group of cultures in particular is proving a particular standout, by virtue of sheer numbers.
Hispanics now comprise 16 percent of the U.S. population, and the U.S. Census indicates that the country's Hispanic population is expected to grow 34 percent by 2020, according to a recent study from The NPD Group. That naturally leads to the conclusion that this growth, coupled with Latinos' adherence to dining traditions, is beginning to influence overall U.S. consumption patterns.
"There's no doubt about it — Hispanics are a large and quickly growing group, and they will likely move the needle on national consumption trends over the next 10 years," says Darren Seifer, food and beverage industry analyst for Port Washington, N.Y.-based NPD, whose NET (National Eating Trends) Hispanic report plots in-home and away-from-home food and beverage consumption habits of U.S. Hispanics by level of acculturation. "Marketers who wish to stay ahead of this growth should invest in understanding not only U.S. Hispanics' behaviors, but also the traditions they honor at the dining table."
More compelling data affirming the same was presented early this year in Progressive Grocer's 65th Annual Consumer Expenditures Study.
Hispanics and Non-Hispanics Likely to Shop at Supermarkets
Hispanics and non-Hispanics who are primary grocery shoppers are about equally likely to shop at supermarkets regularly. More than half of primary grocery shoppers in both groups say they regularly shop in this channel. Supermarkets tend to offer a variety of ethnic foods, but should consider expanding their selection of items that appeal to Hispanics, considering their expected population growth over the next few years. As the number of Hispanics in the country continues to grow, this will help drive growth in the grocery market.
Insights for this report included exclusive consumer research Mintel commissioned through GMI to explore consumers' attitudes and behaviors toward shopping for groceries. Mintel was responsible for the survey design, data analysis and reporting. Fieldwork was conducted Feb. 28 to March 5, 2012, among a sample of 2,000 adults age 18-plus with access to the Internet.
Ethnic Marketing
IBISWorld (www.ibisworld.com) recently issued a report on the ethnic supermarket industry. Here are a few highlights:
- Demand for the industry's products is driven by the growing Hispanic and Asian populations in the United States; together, these markets represent 98.3 percent of industry sales.
- Over the five years to 2011, industry revenue has grown at an average annual rate of 2.1 percent, to $26 billion.
- Despite the industry's growing market base, ethnic supermarkets were still negatively affected by the recession. In 2008, when consumer sentiment crashed by 25.5 percent, industry revenue increased 1 percent.
- The economy has been slow to recover, but an uptick in per capita disposable income is expected to help industry revenue grow.
- As Asian and Hispanic populations continue to grow domestically, demand for cultural foods will increase further. This trend, coupled with per capita disposable income growth of 1.5 percent per year, will push industry revenue up at an average annual rate of 3.7 percent, to $31.2 billion by 2016.