What Are the Top-Selling Food & Beverage New Products for Hispanic Consumers?

6/15/2018

CHICAGO — Because the Hispanic community is the fastest-growing ethnic group in the nation and spends more than $94.7 billion on consumer packaged goods (CPG) products annually, marketers have an opportunity to capture more shopping dollars from these consumers, especially if they understand some key nuances in their attitudes and preferences, according to IRI's Hispanics and New Products Pacesetters report.

"By 2020, Hispanics will account for over half of the population growth in the United States, and their spending power will also increase significantly," said Susan Viamari, vice president of Thought Leadership for IRI.

"Unfortunately, most marketers don't have easy access to detailed information on what Hispanic shoppers are buying, including in key CPG categories. This significantly limits new growth opportunities for brands, so we examined what Hispanics are buying, and even why they are buying products, to help marketers engage with these very important consumers," she explained.

While Hispanic buying power is concentrated in select markets — like New Mexico, Texas, California, Florida, Nevada, Colorado, New Jersey, New York and Illinois — their interest in new products is spread across retail departments.

Among those who consider themselves avid new product adopters, these departments piqued particular interest:

Food

English-speaking Hispanics: 26 percent
Bilingual Hispanics: 29 percent
Spanish-speaking Hispanics: 25 percent
Non-Hispanics: 23 percent

Beverage

English-speaking Hispanics: 19 percent
Bilingual Hispanics: 20 percent
Spanish-speaking Hispanics: 13 percent
Non-Hispanics: 16 percent

Beauty/Personal Care

English-speaking Hispanics: 19 percent
Bilingual Hispanics: 24 percent
Spanish-speaking Hispanics: 29 percent
Non-Hispanics: 12 percent

Home Care

English-speaking Hispanics: 13 percent
Bilingual Hispanics: 20 percent
Spanish-speaking Hispanics: 29 percent
Non-Hispanics: 11 percent

Health Care

English-speaking Hispanics: 10 percent
Bilingual Hispanics: 13 percent
Spanish-speaking Hispanics: 20 percent
Non-Hispanics: 9 percent

Pet Care

English-speaking Hispanics: 9 percent
Bilingual Hispanics: 8 percent
Spanish-speaking Hispanics: 9 percent
Non-Hispanics: 6 percent

Top-Selling Food & Beverage Launches

Based on the most successful CPG launches in the 2017 New Product Pacesetters report, IRI uncovered the top-selling food and beverage products for Hispanic consumers:

Halo Top
Hillshire Snacking
Chobani Drinks
GOOD THiNS
Oscar Mayer Natural
Dunkin’ Donuts Iced Coffee
Cracker Barrel Macaroni & Cheese
Birds Eye Steamfresh Veggie Made
SMARTMADE by Smart Ones
POWERADE X ION4

According to IRI, the mix of healthy and indulgent products found in the top 10 ranking study reflects Hispanics' attitudes toward eating. For example, 36 percent say they eat healthy half of the time and eat whatever they want the other half. Another 36 percent say they eat healthy 80 percent of the time and allow for indulgences 20 percent of the time.

The top healthy eating considerations vary significantly across Hispanic sectors:

Avoiding processed foods

English-speaking Hispanics: 58 percent
Bilingual Hispanics: 54 percent
Spanish-speaking Hispanics: 31 percent
Non-Hispanics: 56 percent

The right mix of different types of food

English-speaking Hispanics: 44 percent
Bilingual Hispanics: 36 percent
Spanish-speaking Hispanics: 36 percent
Non-Hispanics: 42 percent

Natural foods

English-speaking Hispanics: 30 percent
Bilingual Hispanics: 41 percent
Spanish-speaking Hispanics: 24 percent
Non-Hispanics: 23 percent

Organic foods

English-speaking Hispanics: 20 percent
Bilingual Hispanics: 19 percent
Spanish-speaking Hispanics: 40 percent
Non-Hispanics: 15 percent

Include higher-calorie treats in moderation

English-speaking Hispanics: 10 percent
Bilingual Hispanics: 6 percent
Spanish-speaking Hispanics: 21 percent
Non-Hispanics: 11 percent

Top-Selling Non-Food Launches

Forty percent of Pacesetter brands that hit the mark with Hispanics tout "more natural," "organic," "herbal," or "holistic" attributes, shaping the top 10 non-food ranking:

Fancy Feast Medleys
Garnier Whole Blends
Carol's Daughter
Herbal Essences Bio:Renew
Copper Chef
GLISS Hair Repair
Dove Nutritive Solutions
Dentalife
Red Copper
OxiClean HD

Hispanics are looking for new non-food products that provide new health benefits and faster results. Key considerations for new products include:

Offers longer-lasting relief compared to existing alternatives

English-speaking Hispanics: 31 percent
Bilingual Hispanics: 28 percent
Spanish-speaking Hispanics: 32 percent
Non-Hispanics: 32 percent

Offers faster relief than existing products

English-speaking Hispanics: 30 percent
Bilingual Hispanics: 25 percent
Spanish-speaking Hispanics: 14 percent
Non-Hispanics: 30 percent

Treats multiple symptoms

English-speaking Hispanics: 32 percent
Bilingual Hispanics: 33 percent
Spanish-speaking Hispanics: 29 percent
Non-Hispanics: 27 percent

Appeals to many people in my household

English-speaking Hispanics: 27 percent
Bilingual Hispanics: 28 percent
Spanish-speaking Hispanics: 25 percent
Non-Hispanics: 21 percent

Offers new health benefits

English-speaking Hispanics: 26 percent
Bilingual Hispanics: 28 percent
Spanish-speaking Hispanics: 35 percent
Non-Hispanics: 21 percent

"Hispanics are a highly diverse group, based on factors such as age, income, media preferences and language preference — English-preferred, bilingual or Spanish-preferred. Attracting Hispanics requires an understanding of these language preferences, along with their digital and social preferences, to quickly see a huge opportunity for CPG across food, beauty, home and health care brands," said Staci Covkin, principal of Consumer and Shopper Marketing for IRI.

"Aligning a new product launch with the needs of Hispanic shoppers is rapidly becoming a critical success factor for sustained CPG and retail growth, so improved insights and activation of these shoppers can result in significant sales and market share uplift," she concluded.

For more on Hispanics and new product trends, click here.