Big mainstream grocers chase Hispanic shoppers
PORTLAND, Ore. — After moving to the U.S. 10 years ago, Juana Carabarin still wanted to cook Mexican food for her family but often didn't have time to go to specialty shops for the ingredients.
Now the Publix grocery in Norcross, Ga., near her home carries products used in Mexican cuisine - including corn husks for tamales, chilis in the spice aisle, chorizo and queso fresco in the refrigerator case and some branded items. And she no longer has to make do with stand-ins.
Several major chains are expanding their specialty offerings to capture business from Latinos, the country's fastest-growing population and already almost one-sixth of the U.S. total in 2008. Other retailers are opening new stores that target Hispanic shoppers.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest retailer, is in the process of converting two of its stores in Phoenix and Houston to Supermercados - a test format aimed at Hispanic shoppers. Its wholesale subsidiary, Sam's Club, is opening a store in Houston this summer - called Mas, or "more" -that targets Hispanic shoppers and businesses.
And Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix, which has run a line of Publix Sabor stores for years geared toward Florida's Cuban, Puerto Rican and other Latino shoppers, recently began expanding its Hispanic offerings at its Publix stores in other areas of heavy Latino population, like the store in Georgia where Carabarin shops.
Developing new stores or venturing into new markets may seem like a dicey proposition during a recession, but a recent U.S. Census report shows the Hispanic population grew 3.2 percent between 2007 and 2008. Better serving an existing and rapidly growing population could pay off well for retailers.
Hispanic consumers tend to shop for groceries more often than the average U.S. consumer, cook from scratch more often, buy more fresh items and spend an estimated 20 percent more at the store, according to the Food Marketing Institute.
At the Food Marketing Institute's last count, in 2005, Hispanic consumers spent considerably more on groceries than average U.S. consumers: an average of $133 per week per household versus $91. They also estimate Hispanics direct an estimated 34 percent of their grocery shopping outside their primary grocery store, compared with 18 percent among general U.S. shoppers.
It's that 34 percent these retailers aim to recapture.
Sam's Club said Mas will sell mainstream U.S. products as well as brands and items not often found in the states. Mas will feature a fresh tortilla shop, expanded produce, meat and bakery sections, a full-service health clinic and financial services - through a partner company that is popular in Mexico.
Mas also will have a business side, catering to restaurants, stores or other businesses that want Hispanic-oriented products in one spot with the benefit of its buying power.
While some grocers still contain their Hispanic offerings to an "ethnic" aisle, some experts say the popularity of Hispanic products among Latino and other consumers merits more attention.
"I think there is an increase in appetite across the board for more international experiences, particularly in Hispanic grocery," said Stephen Palacios, executive vice president at consulting company Cheskin Added Value. "The ethnic-specific aisle is eventually going to evolve into everybody's aisle."
A major challenge for retailers will be accurately understanding this diverse and dispersed population.
Felipe Korzenny, director of the Center for Hispanic Marketing Communication at Florida State University, said other retailers who have failed in their attempts to market to Hispanics have failed to understand the nuances among its customers. But he said if Wal-Mart and others simply change the sign out front, that won't be enough.
Wal-Mart says its Supermercados are much more. At its recently opened Houston site, the meat department offers sweet breads, milanesa (a type of veal) and arrachera (similar to skirt steak, for grilling), and the bakery sells fresh corn tortillas.
The new stores - which build on the offerings of Wal-Mart's existing stores and add bilingual signs and a different layout - are more relevant to Hispanic customers, the company says. Wal-Mart often modifies a store to target a micro-market, including installing hitching posts at an Ohio store near a large Amish population and a bike repair shop at a store in a bicycle-friendly community in Texas.
"It's not about putting the same store into every market," spokeswoman Amy Wyatt-Moore said.
Food, more than bicycles or hitching posts, may be key to pulling in new ethnic groups and especially Latinos.
Paul Bryan, director of account planning at Bromley Communications in San Antonio, Texas, the largest ad agency targeting the Hispanic market, said traditional cuisine is a crucial component of the Hispanic experience.
"Food is probably a strong cultural pillar for any culture, but it does seem to play a very strong role in the Hispanic population," he said.
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Kate Brumback of the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Comments
sardis12 (anonymous) says...
"At the Food Marketing Institute's last count, in 2005, Hispanic consumers spent considerably more on groceries than average U.S. consumers: an average of $133 per week per household versus $91."
What would you expect? The average Hispanic household probably has 23 people...
July 5, 2009 at 2:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Beantown (anonymous) says...
Screw all this nonsense about catering to everyone. You want to be in America, assimilate to our way of life. If I moved to Mexico, would the mexicans go out of their way to make sure I had certain kinds of "comfort foods?" Probably not. Way to keep the illegal flow coming, Wal-Mart! Like it isn't little mexico in there on Sundays now.
July 5, 2009 at 7:33 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mqc (anonymous) says...
I used to work for Wal-Mart. Yes, the Hispanic population does spend more for food, especially fresh fruits and vegetables. Why? The average shopper can't afford very much fresh produce. We work and don't get food stamps.
July 5, 2009 at 8:51 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
dbeast420 (anonymous) says...
I guess it's like they say.... "Build a better mousetrap and the rats will come out of the woodwork."
July 5, 2009 at 9:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
datadiva (anonymous) says...
Do you people not realize that not EVERY hispanic person is illegal??? What about legal hispanice people that want to cook foods just like Abuela used to make but can't find the ingredients. Much like if I went into a store and couldn't find ricotta cheese (manicotti or cannoli) or lady fingers (tiramisu) its the same thing!!
My kids are half hispanic, their Nana/Abuela made them tamales for Christmas - why shouldn't I be able to do the same now that we've moved away from their grandmother???
I don't understand the THEY'RE ALL ILLEGALS thinking, I wish people would realize that they aren't. My kids aren't, their father/grandmother etc are NOT and there are TONS of others out there who aren't!! Move on please!!
July 5, 2009 at 9:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
datadiva (anonymous) says...
and... what the article is ALSO saying is that not everyone who purchase ethnic foods is ethnic, most of the people I see at the Mexican restaurants here are non-hispanic!
Oh, and Hispanic is NOT synonymous with Mexican btw!!! Just like White is not synonymous with Italian, Irish, German, French, etc...
July 5, 2009 at 9:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lunchlady (anonymous) says...
Build it and they will come.
July 5, 2009 at 12:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
yird (anonymous) says...
"Big mainstream grocers chase Hispanic shoppers"
Big Government to chase illegal immigrants home, would have been a nice complimentary byline.
More power to those stores catering to the dietary wants of those here legally.
July 5, 2009 at 1:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
stanleyt (anonymous) says...
This is great. I'm not Latino American myself but I do enjoy Mexican food a lot and Spanish food too which is an entirely different matter. Camarones a la Diablo is a phenomenal Mexican dish.
As a result of eating such good food, I've begun growing my own habaneros in the backyard. Even so, it's nice to be able to grab stuff at the grocery stores besides hamburger meat and ketchup.
Lots of people buying ethnic food nowadays are not necessarily originally from other countries. If you go to a thai or a tibetan restaurant for instance, chances are the one common denominator has little to do with ethnicity rather it has to do with the people there being generally young and often well educated. The future of food is bright if you're open to other influences.
July 5, 2009 at 2:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Chicago_Thug (anonymous) says...
Not sure this is 'bad', its just business doing business. But, I do get tired of the press 1 for english, and so on.
Comapanies are going to do what they need, to get new customers.
July 5, 2009 at 3:23 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
clisby (anonymous) says...
Beantown: If a store in Mexico had a lot of Anglo shoppers, you better believe it would cater to them - unless the store owner is an idiot.
I like to cook Mexican food - I think it's great if I don't have to track down a Mexican specialty market or go to Whole Foods just to get basic ingredients.
July 5, 2009 at 3:27 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
moonpie (anonymous) says...
Great chase them back to where they came from and open up shop there, hire them to work for you and all is well!
July 5, 2009 at 7:59 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
torde2u (anonymous) says...
Regular Americans are being undermined and outbred by these mostly parasitic illegals and their anchor babies. This really sends a wrong message to these system milkers. I cant even get Walmart to carry a good whole grain bread! So if you cant run em out, make sure you keep em fat and happy so they can breed to the max. Anything for a dollar Walmart you are a big fat traitor to this country!
July 5, 2009 at 9:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
NakedYoga (anonymous) says...
No, "regular Americans" don't buy groceries to take home and cook. Instead, they go to McDonald's, Burger King, and all the rest of the trashy hillbilly fine dining establishments.
July 5, 2009 at 11:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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