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Superfoods: Latino-style Favorites

Hot opportunities for popular commodities
Superfoods_MS

Viva La Diferencia
While a health message generally, and a superfood message specifically, may appeal to both Hispanic and mainstream consumers, the emphasis in marketing for each varies.

For mainstream consumers, one of the key selling points in addition to health properties is the exotic nature of the commodity. “Tropicals benefit greatly from North Americans’ desire to eat healthier. To eat healthier, they know they need to eat more fruits and vegetables,” Ostlund says.

“Do you simply add more apples, bananas, and strawberries to your diet? Or do you expand what you eat and enjoy a larger variety of tastes? That’s the draw of tropicals, the lure of exotic tastes that you can’t get with more normal fare,” continues Ostlund.

Since many of the Latin-origin commodities considered superfoods can be exotic or new to a general-market consumer, it is important to focus on demonstrations and other informational marketing messages to spur sales.

Mainstream consumers often do not know how to prepare or cook some of these fruits and vegetables or even the sorts of dishes in which they are commonly used.

Hispanic consumers, on the other hand, may gravitate toward these commodities simply because they are familiar from childhood or are part of traditional family recipes—even if they have never prepared the items themselves.

Adding a health message (whether a general one or more specifically related to the commodity’s ‘super’ properties) is recommended, and including preparation or cooking information can tip the scale and influence purchasing decisions.

Hispennials: A Potential Market?
There are some signs that a nutritional message may resonate with Hispanic millennials in particular. About a quarter of U.S. Hispanics, according to a Pew Research Center study, are millennials aged 18 to 33. Most feel a profound connection to foods tied to their home country, regardless of when they, their parents, or grandparents came to the United States.

Nearly two-thirds have shopped at a Hispanic supermarket in the past year, because the stores offer products and brands that reflect their cultural tastes or background. And like Hispanic consumers in general, Hispennials are very likely to try new products in the grocery store and to view shopping as a social experience, attracted by cooking classes and product demonstrations.

In addition, Hispennials purchase more organics on a regular basis than Hispanics of any other age group. To market superfoods to this group, information is key, especially through social media channels. Most Hispanic millennials tend to research products online before shopping, reading descriptions, recipes, or blogs.

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