It’s well known the Hispanic population of the United States is rising. According to Forbes magazine, Hispanics currently make up 17 percent of the U.S. population and this number is expected to hit 24 percent by 2040. In July of this year, the Los Angeles Times reported Hispanics had officially gained majority status in California, outnumbering all other segments of the population at 14.99 million. And while much of this increase is concentrated around large, multicultural hubs like Los Angeles, New York, Miami, and Chicago, some might be surprised to learn other areas in Florida, as well as Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Washington have become hotspots of Hispanic growth.
This shift in population and its resulting cultural enrichment have provided a broad range of business opportunities across the country and even into parts of Canada—especially for those in the food industry, particularly fresh produce. We take a look at this unprecedented growth, starting on the West Coast and traveling eastward.
Washington’s Twins: Seattle & Tacoma
Although there is considerable growth in the Southeast, there are a few standouts along the West Coast and outside of California, including the Seattle and Tacoma areas of Washington. Global information firm Nielsen reports over 108 percent growth in this designated marketing area (DMA) among Hispanics from 2000 to 2013. These changes can also be seen in the evolution of the many celebrations held annually in the region, including the popular Fiestas Patrias, Dia de los Muertos, and Hispanic Seafair Festival.
While only 3.1 percent of businesses in Tacoma and 2.5 percent of businesses in Seattle were Hispanic-owned as of 2007, James Schlatter of Jimmy’s Produce, LLC in Tacoma says more than half of his business is selling to Hispanic grocery stores and restaurants. He sells steady quantities of chiles, tomatillos, guavas, and even hibiscus flowers, on both a wholesale and retail basis (he operates his own store).
The Seattle/Tacoma area is host not only to two busy ports, but the Seattle Terminal Food Market. Schlatter credits plenty of jobs as drawing Hispanics to the area. “Probably ten years ago, it was mainly concentrated in Eastern Washington.” But over the last two decades, he explains, while agriculture may have been the original draw bringing people into the region for harvests, many stayed, starting families, and segueing into other jobs such as building and construction, or opening small stores or neighborhood bodegas.
Schlatter’s most popular commodities include tomatillos, jalapenos, avocados, and a number of different chile peppers, as well as oranges, bananas, and mangos. “We pretty much have everything year-round now. I sell a lot of limes—you never really run out of limes, but the market can swing like crazy at times and Mexico can be the only place to get them.” The market can be especially fickle when it comes to jicama, he notes, and mentions, “there’s always something you don’t know about—aloe vera leaves are a big thing now, mainly used for medicinal purposes. You’ve always got to keep your ear to the ground.”
It’s well known the Hispanic population of the United States is rising. According to Forbes magazine, Hispanics currently make up 17 percent of the U.S. population and this number is expected to hit 24 percent by 2040. In July of this year, the Los Angeles Times reported Hispanics had officially gained majority status in California, outnumbering all other segments of the population at 14.99 million. And while much of this increase is concentrated around large, multicultural hubs like Los Angeles, New York, Miami, and Chicago, some might be surprised to learn other areas in Florida, as well as Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Washington have become hotspots of Hispanic growth.
This shift in population and its resulting cultural enrichment have provided a broad range of business opportunities across the country and even into parts of Canada—especially for those in the food industry, particularly fresh produce. We take a look at this unprecedented growth, starting on the West Coast and traveling eastward.
Washington’s Twins: Seattle & Tacoma
Although there is considerable growth in the Southeast, there are a few standouts along the West Coast and outside of California, including the Seattle and Tacoma areas of Washington. Global information firm Nielsen reports over 108 percent growth in this designated marketing area (DMA) among Hispanics from 2000 to 2013. These changes can also be seen in the evolution of the many celebrations held annually in the region, including the popular Fiestas Patrias, Dia de los Muertos, and Hispanic Seafair Festival.
While only 3.1 percent of businesses in Tacoma and 2.5 percent of businesses in Seattle were Hispanic-owned as of 2007, James Schlatter of Jimmy’s Produce, LLC in Tacoma says more than half of his business is selling to Hispanic grocery stores and restaurants. He sells steady quantities of chiles, tomatillos, guavas, and even hibiscus flowers, on both a wholesale and retail basis (he operates his own store).
The Seattle/Tacoma area is host not only to two busy ports, but the Seattle Terminal Food Market. Schlatter credits plenty of jobs as drawing Hispanics to the area. “Probably ten years ago, it was mainly concentrated in Eastern Washington.” But over the last two decades, he explains, while agriculture may have been the original draw bringing people into the region for harvests, many stayed, starting families, and segueing into other jobs such as building and construction, or opening small stores or neighborhood bodegas.
Schlatter’s most popular commodities include tomatillos, jalapenos, avocados, and a number of different chile peppers, as well as oranges, bananas, and mangos. “We pretty much have everything year-round now. I sell a lot of limes—you never really run out of limes, but the market can swing like crazy at times and Mexico can be the only place to get them.” The market can be especially fickle when it comes to jicama, he notes, and mentions, “there’s always something you don’t know about—aloe vera leaves are a big thing now, mainly used for medicinal purposes. You’ve always got to keep your ear to the ground.”
The biggest difference Schlatter has seen recently is the Hispanic community’s willingness to buy in bulk, such as 5, 8, 10-pound packages. “It reminds me of when I was a kid,” he says, explaining that his grandparents were Italian and it was very important to find the freshest ingredients for sauces and specific dishes. It was, he reminisced, like a community competition of who could make the best-tasting sauce or traditional meal.
Desert Sparkle: Las Vegas, Nevada
Although Las Vegas has shown the least growth of the cities covered here, its Hispanic population grew by an astonishing 104 percent from 2000 to 2013 according to Nielsen. Ranked 16 in the Pew Research Center’s top Hispanic Metropolitan Areas a few years ago, the city has a thriving Hispanic culture. Part of the attraction is a variety of Hispanic-themed celebrations, like the Fiesta Las Vegas Latino Parade, the Our Lady of Guadalupe celebration in December, Clark County’s Dia de los Muertos festival, and many more. Nevada also has a Latino governor, Brian Sandoval.
Nils Goldschmidt, president of Las Vegas-based Terra Exports, LLC, calls Vegas a “great place for business.” Like Schlatter, he believes the influx of Hispanics has a great deal to do with job availability. California, he observes, has a highly competitive job market and fluctuating economic strength. For many, Nevada is the “next closest destination. The cost of living is significantly lower here,” he notes, and better yet, residents enjoy the “perks of not having horrible traffic like you see in Los Angeles.”
Goldschmidt estimates about a third of Terra’s sales end up in Hispanic stores. A Hispanic himself, he cautions that it’s a mistake to think too collectively. “We talk about Hispanics as a market, but Columbians may eat something that Argentinians don’t, etc.”
Although the most recent U.S. census reported slightly less than 10 percent of Vegas businesses were Hispanic-owned, Goldschmidt has noticed real prosperity in the supermarket segment. “Back in the day, you were talking about the little bodega corner market; now you go into these [stores] and they look like a Whole Foods market.” Freshness and price are key, he says, and predicts mangos, pineapples, and papayas will keep rising in popularity due to Vegas’ expanding Hispanic population.
Florida Five: Ft. Myers, Naples, Orlando, Tampa, West Palm Beach
Florida has become a true melting pot for Hispanics in recent decades, beyond the well-known Latino enclaves of Miami. The Sunshine State boasts several areas of growth, and among these the Orlando metro region has seen the greatest surge in Hispanic population at 125 percent according to Nielsen. The Ft. Myers/Naples area came in a close second with 123 percent, followed by Tampa and West Palm Beach at 112 and 111 percent respectively.
In terms of overall population, the numbers break down a bit differently when looking at the 2010 U.S. census figures: Orlando had the most Hispanic residents at 25.4 percent; Tampa had 23.1 percent; West Palm Beach came in at 22.6 percent; Ft. Myers, 20 percent; and Naples, at only 4.5 percent. Business ownership numbers tell a somewhat different story, however, with Tampa leading the state at over 20 percent, Orlando following closely at 19 percent, 17 percent in West Palm Beach, nearly 14 percent in Naples, and just over 10 percent in Ft. Myers. Per capita retail sales of Hispanic-owned business are a study in contrasts: just under $20,000 in Tampa to more than $70,000 in Naples.
Top Cities Where Hispanics Thrive Economically
1) Jacksonville, FL
2) Riverside – San Bernardino, CA
3) Baltimore, MD
4) Houston, TX
5) Washington, DC metro area
6) Virginia Beach – Norfolk, VA
7) Dallas – Fort Worth, TX
8) San Antonio, TX
9) Austin, TX and St. Louis, MO (tie)
Source: Forbes – based on median household income, home ownership, employment, and increases in population.
Florida’s evolution is not unusual, according to Dr. Fritz Roka, associate professor of Agricultural Economics at the University of Florida’s Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee. With migration frequently driven by economic opportunity, agriculture has certainly helped bring immigrants to the state. “Agriculture has been more of a gateway than even Miami,” Roka explains, “it doesn’t require language skills, it requires able-bodied people. Then, when they’ve gotten settled and oriented, they look for other opportunities outside of agriculture.”
In his 19 years of residency, Roka says types of fruits and vegetables grown throughout the state have changed along with the population mix. “I think the whole vegetable palate has become more diversified,” he observes. One example is tomatoes: round tomatoes ruled the market for years, but not anymore. “We’re still growing round tomatoes, but now there’s also Roma, grape, cherry, different colors, and Heirloom.”
North Carolina Siblings: Charlotte & Raleigh-Durham
North Carolina’s total Hispanic population was 9 percent as of 2013 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. While this may seem like a significant increase compared to the 5 percent reported in 2000 by the University of North Carolina’s Charlotte Urban Institute, it pales in comparison to some of the other cities discussed above.
Yet North Carolina, like Florida, has Hispanic growth throughout the state. Five years ago, there were 27 cities or towns with a population more than 20 percent Hispanic. Nielsen reported Charlotte as the most rapidly evolving city, besting metro areas across the nation with an impressive 168 percent increase in Hispanic population from 2000 to 2013. The Raleigh area wasn’t far behind with 139 percent growth in the same time period. Census numbers tell the story from the total population angle: Charlotte’s Hispanic population surpassed 13 percent and Raleigh was just over 11 percent.
Jarrod Snider, director of sales for Charlotte-based Richter and Company, Inc. says Richter has been tracking the changes much farther back than 2000. “The consumer demographic has been evolving and changing over the last 50 years,” he points out, considering the population shift as “a major opportunity to grow our business.”
Several of the cities themselves have responded with festivals and associations dedicated to celebrating and promoting Hispanics. The Annual Charlotte Bachata & Salsa Latin Dance Festival celebrated its fourth year in 2015 and the Hola Charlotte Festival is expected to draw as many as 60,000 attendees in October.
This year also marked the Latin American Coalition’s 25th Annual Festival Latinoamericano and the city of Durham continued its yearly Latino Festival in September. Organizations such as El Centro Hispano and Diamante dedicate themselves to promoting and enriching the Hispanic community as well as celebrating its culture and art.
Snider believes more people of Hispanic origin have come to the state for the same reason most people move anywhere—opportunity. “We have a valuable workforce at our farms,” he says, and as a key growing region, the company has both a migrant work force and local residents alike. Simply put, he states, “There’s opportunity here.”
The Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham areas are home to both the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market and the State Farmer’s Market in Raleigh as well as the nearby ports of Wilmington and Morehead City.
Since Hispanic customers tend to purchase more produce than other demographic groups, in both quantity and frequency, Snider says “it gives us an opportunity to utilize different sizing and specifications to meet their demands. At the same time, it helps us to move more product.” Single-serve fruit offerings, both fresh and dried, are also a growth category, which Snider notes is “a major trend here in the Southwest, and on the East Coast.”
Other Cities to Watch: Atlanta, Oklahoma City, Washington DC & More
Several other cities and metropolitan areas are becoming home to the U.S.’s surging Hispanic population. Atlanta experienced a 127 percent growth rate from 2000 to 2013, second only to Charlotte and the area around Raleigh, NC. The city’s overall Hispanic population continues to climb, reaching nearly 6 percent of the metro area’s total population.
As another key growing region in the country, the city hosts the Atlanta State Farmers Market, the largest market in the world on 150 acres. Though only about 2.4 percent of businesses in the state are owned by Hispanics, overall retail sales neared $6 billion offering plenty of opportunities for prosperity in the growing and selling of fresh produce.
Besting Las Vegas’ Hispanic growth for the 2000 to 2013 period is Oklahoma City—yes, Oklahoma City. Nielsen reported a huge jump in Hispanic population at 119 percent, ranking this city sixth in the nation. According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, between 1900 and the 1960s Hispanic immigration came predominantly from Mexico. After the 1960s, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and a variety of other countries contributed to the metropolitan area’s diversity.
The city’s Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has stepped up its support of community success stories, hosting the annual Viva Oklahoma Expo and Career Fair as well as its Viva Sabor to promote Hispanic businesses. In addition, the city’s annual ‘OK Cine Latino’ promotes and focuses on Latino films and filmmakers.
While Oklahoma City has the smallest number of Hispanic residents (under 150,000 according to the most recent Pew report), over 4 percent were business owners. There is plenty of room for growth, however, and this city is certainly one to watch.
Washington D.C. is another up-and-comer. Besides being the hub for national and international politics and government, Nielsen reports that as economic and climatic troubles have hit California and other traditional “gateway” cities such as New York and Miami, immigrants are looking for better job prospects in new arrival points, such as Washington DC. This may account for the 108 percent growth among Hispanics from 2000 to 2013.
Other cities climbing in the ranks of Hispanic population include Kansas City, Missouri; the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro region in Minnesota; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Austin, Texas—all of which experienced growth rates ranging from 94 to 98 percent in the decade-plus since 2000 according to Nielsen.
Looking to the Future
Looking ahead, Schlatter is concerned the Hispanic population boom and the many benefits it brings to the produce industry may not last. Assimilation of future generations may lead to a breakdown of traditions. “I think after the kids get more and more assimilated, it will actually hurt the business,” he contends. “This is kind of what has happened with other generations of North Americans: they don’t cook as much, they don’t have larger families. In a decade, you’ll start seeing more of this happen.”
Like Snider, Schlatter hopes the Hispanic propensity for buying and consuming high levels of fresh produce doesn’t change in the years to come. Goldschmidt believes the changes seen by the West Coast are moving eastward.
“All the Hispanic [grocery] chains that were over there are popping up over here [in Las Vegas]—whatever trend happens there is mimicked here.” Snider agrees, but believes businesses must be flexible and able to adapt. “We’re going to continue to focus on the key commodities we’ve had success with, but we’re always evaluating additional commodities as well as specific varieties and pack sizes allowing us to enhance and continue to strengthen our overall program. That’s one of our challenges—to understand consumers and provide them with the offerings they want.”
Roka predicts increasing adaptation in the larger producers. “The people supplying ethnically diverse markets are smaller growers. As these products become more mainstream, they too will start to integrate and become bigger. The only thing that will remain the same is that it will change.”
One thing seems certain: whether the Hispanic market adapts to reflect more of the typical American diet, or the community influences America to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, the Hispanic demographic will continue to grow for the foreseeable future.
