Taco Nation
With all the gloom and doom financial news going on in the world, it was amazingly refreshing to experience the positive feelings at the Latin Food expo at the LA Convention Center last week.
Maybe it was the artisian Tequila speaking but that was the best show I have ever been too…ever! The smell of fresh tortillas and carne asada filled the air and the friendly nature of the people there were overwhelming – very much true to the culture in general.
The popularity of Mexican cuisine lies in the shear number of Mexicans now living in the United States. They are the number one group immigrating here and also the highest birth rate once they are established. Mexicans also have the highest percentage of families with children and triple the national average for starting small businesses.
Hispanics take the most vacations to go back to their home of origin and also make the most over the border phone calls.
This is all very important to maintaining their cultural heritage.
Food also plays a very important role in maintaining that heritage as well. Food speaks volumes about who you are and where you come from. It is a comfort that many who are far away from home take pleasure in.
What does this mean for the Mexican food market? Plenty as I found out at the Expo Comida Latina.
The most interesting thing I noticed was the brands themselves. Before I went to the event I checked out the websites of these companies that are leading the way. The sites and the logos seem to be from a different era. Websites are from 1995 and the logos and branding haven’t changed since their inception 50-90 years ago. I literally expected chickens to be walking around on the event show floor.
I was pleasantly surprised to find some very exciting event marketing even though the branding was stuck in the past.
Almost all of the logos consist of a Juan Valdez-type guy from the coffee commercial complete with serape, mustache and large sombrero. The colors are identical to the Mexican flag – everything from chili powder to fried pork rinds has the same red, white and green nationalistic colors. There is a severe shortage of any creativity when it comes to branding and packaging but all that will change as the market evolves into the mainstream.
The best branding I could find was the artisian tequilas. Possibly because they have to be a lot more savvy in the marketplace to compete.
The craftsmanship just going into the containers are tremendous. Gorgeous thick hand blown glass in eye catching colors to reflect the flavor. The artisian tequila is smooth and flavorful. Not at all like I remember in college.
The most memorable was the Real Tejeda that had a gorgeous rounded blue bottle with original watercolor artwork. I must say the product matched the bottle with a smooth fiery afterglow.
The alternate to the sombrero man was his Carmen Miranda-like counterpart of a beautiful dark haired lady from the 1940’s. When I asked if the woman on the brand had any significance to LA local Dolores Chili, CEO David Munoz replied that it was his grandmother. Dolores was born in 1919 in Juarez, Mexico. At 20, she came to California to marry Basilio Munoz. In 1954, the couple established the family business, whose first canned product was menudo, based on her recipe.
This is a very telling tale of how the Latino community holds onto the past as I found out at the panel discussions.
A surprising 60% of Latinos under 30 years old are seeking recipes and ingredients that mama used. There is a misconception that brands don’t matter and only word of mouth will sell a product. But as the Hispanic market grows, a younger consumer is emerging online.
The old mentality “if mama used it then I will use it” is going to the wayside due to the advent of the internet. The emerging generation is seeking more education and quality assurance online. It also means that young people are cooking more!
The growing numbers of the Hispanic population in the United States is no secret to marketers. Hispanic food products are not new to the traditional American consumer: tacos, salsa, burritos and nachos are staples of dining-out and, increasingly, in-home eating habits. There is also a “Latinization” trend of what are considered traditional “American” foods – Haagen Daz’s dulce de leche ice cream is a great example of this transformation.
American consumers are also “hot” for the cuisine of Latin America. Major mainstream marketers, such as Kraft and Nestle, have identified expansion in the Hispanic market as a significant component of their growth strategies. Even investors are looking to smaller, niche Latino products as today’s growth alternative to dot.com and telecom companies.
There is no question that the Latino marketplace is booming but as it grows – it will also evolve. By the year 2050, the United States will be ¼ Hispanic and the new Spanish language will be bilingual. According to the Center for Hispanic Marketing we will see a “customization of culture” and colorful patterns will stay longer than language itself. Combining new technologies with steadfast cultural icons will be successful in marketing to Hispanics.
There is an old Mexican proverb that says conversation is food for the soul and at the Comida Latina in LA last week, there was plenty to go around.
>Written by d/visible contributor Tracy Hammond.
