Many consumer media outlets over the past several years have labeled a range of healthy food items as “superfoods.” The moniker, while it has little scientific support, tends to add consumer interest and boost purchases and the fresh produce category has been one of the main beneficiaries of this trend.
While the best-known superfoods are arguably berries and dark greens such as spinach and kale, a wide range of other commodities—many with roots in Latin America and popular in Hispanic cuisine—have been associated with the superfood label as well.
From papaya and purslane to chile peppers and lucuma, these items present an opportunity to increase sales in the U.S. Hispanic market by reinforcing a pro-health message.
Mainstream and More According to Mary Ostlund, marketing director at Brooks Tropicals, LLC in Homestead, FL (near Miami), the continuing growth of the U.S.’s His-panic population in many areas “has been essential to the introduction of many tropicals to the produce aisle of every grocery store.”
In turn, due to escalating demand, retailers have sought out new or exotic items to fill shelves and displays. Brooks says Asian populations are also driving sales, as tropicals are grown in climates native to both Hispanics and Asians.
Many Hispanic-origin superfoods have gone mainstream; examples include mangos, avocados, chile peppers, and papayas. Ostlund believes commodities such as starfruit, red guava, dragonfruit, and passionfruit are on the path toward general-market status, while others, such as jackfruit and sapodilla, are still firmly in the specialty category.
Don Hugo Produce, Inc., an importer and wholesaler of Mexican produce in Edinburg, TX, sells the perennially popular avocados, cilantro, and hot peppers, as well as commodities still on the specialty end of the spectrum, such as verdolagas (sometimes called ‘Mexican parsley’ or purslane), nopalitos (cactus leaves or pads), and tunas (cactus pears).
“A healthy diet is one reason some of these items have seen an increase in consumption,” explains Sam De Los Santos, in sales. “Another reason is Hispanic cuisine has become more mainstream.”
Lance Jungmeyer, president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas in Nogales, AZ, agrees with De Los Santos, noting Mexican is even recognized by the United Nations as one of the world’s most popular cuisines. Further, he notes, “Hot peppers and avocados continue to drive foodservice dining trends in the United States. Mexico is the key source for these items,” he says, “and the industry continues to increase production to meet demand.”
Health and Messages Resonate
It should be noted that the term ‘superfoods’ does not have a universally agreed-upon meaning, nor is there much undisputed scientific data to back up many of the claims.
Many consumer media outlets over the past several years have labeled a range of healthy food items as “superfoods.” The moniker, while it has little scientific support, tends to add consumer interest and boost purchases and the fresh produce category has been one of the main beneficiaries of this trend.
While the best-known superfoods are arguably berries and dark greens such as spinach and kale, a wide range of other commodities—many with roots in Latin America and popular in Hispanic cuisine—have been associated with the superfood label as well.
From papaya and purslane to chile peppers and lucuma, these items present an opportunity to increase sales in the U.S. Hispanic market by reinforcing a pro-health message.
Mainstream and More According to Mary Ostlund, marketing director at Brooks Tropicals, LLC in Homestead, FL (near Miami), the continuing growth of the U.S.’s His-panic population in many areas “has been essential to the introduction of many tropicals to the produce aisle of every grocery store.”
In turn, due to escalating demand, retailers have sought out new or exotic items to fill shelves and displays. Brooks says Asian populations are also driving sales, as tropicals are grown in climates native to both Hispanics and Asians.
Many Hispanic-origin superfoods have gone mainstream; examples include mangos, avocados, chile peppers, and papayas. Ostlund believes commodities such as starfruit, red guava, dragonfruit, and passionfruit are on the path toward general-market status, while others, such as jackfruit and sapodilla, are still firmly in the specialty category.
Don Hugo Produce, Inc., an importer and wholesaler of Mexican produce in Edinburg, TX, sells the perennially popular avocados, cilantro, and hot peppers, as well as commodities still on the specialty end of the spectrum, such as verdolagas (sometimes called ‘Mexican parsley’ or purslane), nopalitos (cactus leaves or pads), and tunas (cactus pears).
“A healthy diet is one reason some of these items have seen an increase in consumption,” explains Sam De Los Santos, in sales. “Another reason is Hispanic cuisine has become more mainstream.”
Lance Jungmeyer, president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas in Nogales, AZ, agrees with De Los Santos, noting Mexican is even recognized by the United Nations as one of the world’s most popular cuisines. Further, he notes, “Hot peppers and avocados continue to drive foodservice dining trends in the United States. Mexico is the key source for these items,” he says, “and the industry continues to increase production to meet demand.”
Health and Messages Resonate
It should be noted that the term ‘superfoods’ does not have a universally agreed-upon meaning, nor is there much undisputed scientific data to back up many of the claims.
Typically, the superfood label refers to commodities—often, but not always, fruits, vegetables, seeds, grains, and legumes—that are promoted as better than other foods in addressing specific health and wellness concerns.
Some items may be promoted as beneficial for brain or heart health, aid in digestion, enhance weight loss, alleviate symptoms of diabetes, or even fight cancer. Few efforts have been made, to date, to market commodities specifically to the U.S. Hispanic market using the superfood label. But a health message can appeal to Hispanic shoppers as well.
“Items such as avocados and verdolaga can be marketed as ‘superfoods’ to both Hispanics and the general market,” asserts De Los Santos. “Both are high in nutritional value. There’s a trend among U.S. Hispanics to eat healthier, and many have started to look at the dishes their parents and grandparents used to eat for healthy foods to add to their diets.”
Familiarity, however, drives sales more than any health message at this point. “For the Hispanic market, it’s not as much the health aspect as the fact that it’s a fruit they grew up with,” comments Claudia Pizarro-Villalobos, director of marketing and culinary at D’Arrigo Bros. of California, in Salinas, CA. “They know how to prepare it and it’s familiar to them.”
D’Arrigo Bros. specializes in commodities with origins in Sicily, including some that also appeal to Hispanic consumers, such as cactus pears and nopalitos. Both promote diabetes control and have been credited with weight loss, among other benefits.
Buying and Trying
A clear indication that healthier foods resonate with Hispanic consumers is the correlation between buying habits and fresh produce consumption.
The most recent “State of the Plate” study from the Produce for Better Health Foundation, based in Wilmington, DE, found U.S. Hispanics ate fruit more than non-Hispanic consumers, though slightly less than Asians in the United States. For the vegetable category, Hispanics ate more vegetables than all groups.
In another illustration of the potential power of a health message, 52 percent of U.S. Hispanics say they eat healthy foods, across all product categories, even though they are more expensive, versus 41 percent of U.S. shoppers overall, according to Acosta Sales and Marketing’s “The Why? Behind the Buy” shopper survey.
In addition, 44 percent of U.S. Hispanics say they often buy natural or organic products because they believe they are better for them (compared to 31 percent of shoppers in general) and 43 percent eat natural foods even though they are more expensive, versus 30 percent of total shoppers in the United States, according to Acosta.
Lastly, Hispanics are also more likely to try and integrate new foods, including fruits and vegetables, into their diet more often than non-Hispanics.
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.
“Marketing to millennials means delivering information: details about the fruit and how to enjoy it,” says Ostlund. “No-recipe ideas are popular to any millennial, regardless of background, and access to that information via their phones is a plus.”
Better yet, she explains, is having a Spanish-language website, which attracts Hispanic shoppers of all ages. Brooks Tropicals’ Spanish website and apps have enjoyed solid traffic and growth, Ostlund reports.
D’Arrigo Bros. also uses social media frequently to tout both the health benefits of cactus pears and nopalitos and to suggest uses and recipes to guide consumers unfamiliar with the commodities.
Pizarro-Villalobos notes that when a health property associated with a superfood hits the news, people will search for the food. In addition, consumers with specific health needs also research foods that might help alleviate symptoms.
When consumers look for information about diabetes, for example, they will discover D’Arrigo’s cactus pears and nopalitos. And when television host Dr. Mehmet Oz made a claim that cactus pears were a hangover cure, the company experienced a sales spike.
“We’re not claiming that at all, but when it happened, we got a lot of people asking us where they could buy cactus pears,” Pizarro-Villalobos recalls.
Next Moves and Messaging
Although it can be a challenge to market superfoods due to an overcrowded landscape for such claims, where the message can be lost amid the hype or diluted, it is still worth the push to introduce (or reintroduce) Latin-origin fruits and vegetables to both U.S Hispanics and other consumers.
Messages directed specifically at His-panic consumers, and Hispennials in particular, often stand out since the opportunity is relatively untapped in the fresh produce industry.
Positioning guava, lucuma, nopalitos, or verdolagas as superfoods in Hispanic-focused marketing efforts may be a way to differentiate a product or brand and drive sales.
Images: gdefilip, Rafael Ramirez, david156, AleSalM, Kosan, LAURA_VN, photoearl, MIGUEL GARCIA SAAVEDRA/Shutterstock.com
D’Arrigo Bros. also uses social media frequently to tout both the health benefits of cactus pears and nopalitos and to suggest uses and recipes to guide consumers unfamiliar with the commodities.