August 28, 2008
Latino Markets Becoming Acculturated
Hispanic immigrants find comfort in shopping in stores that offer familiar products and surroundings similar to what they knew at home. Equally true is that the children of those immigrants are looking to fully participate in the American way of life and for Latino markets that means apple pie might be finding space next to pastelito de guayab (Cuban pastries with guava).
According to the NPD Group, the Latino beverage and food market is expected to grow to $8.4 billion over the next three years, a leap of 47 percent over 2006’s numbers.
Mainstream retailers such as Walmart in the U.S. have been quick to identify this opportunity and are making efforts to attract Latinos with both traditional products and those that provide them with a symbolic entry to the American way of living.
Harry Balzer of the NPD Group told Marketplace on National Public Radio that children of immigrants are drawn to American supermarkets and Latino stores need to adapt if they are going to appeal to the generations of consumers to follow.
“As you spend more time in America, you all of a sudden start eating ham sandwiches and hot dogs and hamburgers,” Mr. Balzer told Marketplace.
Discussion Questions: Can so-called authentic Latino grocery stores make it or must they become Americanized to be successful even when the majority of customers are Hispanic? What are steps stores must take to make the transition without losing their appeal with immigrants? Will Latino stores eventually become mainstream American grocers as acculturation takes place among their initial customer base?
BrainTrust
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Poll
I don’t see why a grocery store can’t be authentically Latino and Americanized at the same time. The Rainbow Market in my Sacramento suburb of Lincoln, CA, caters successfully to both the previous majority of Hispanic families and the growing majority of retirement community residents. The store is bilingual in approach, carries all of the “Americanized” items one could want, but also features a Mexican food section that is just killer. I’m in there all the time. Fresh tortillas. The best chorizo. Head-on fish. Chayote, plantain, prickly pear, platanos, and squash blossoms. Cheeses like Oaxaca, requeson, queso blanco, and manchego. Sauces not found in other mainstream supermarkets in the area. I see many of my Del Webb neighbors shopping there, perhaps becoming “Latinized?”
I agree that most traditional grocery stores have done a very poor job of featuring ethnic foods. To a large extent, though, the Hispanic and Oriental grocers have not been particularly interested in reaching a broader audience either.
From my own personal experience in the second American-born generation in my family, I can recall visits to my grandparents Chicago neighborhood with its German bakeries and Jewish delis. All are gone now. A few linger, sandwiched between Indian groceries. It is the nature of change as each immigrant group supports its traditions, which fade away as subsequent generations are absorbed into our common culture. The Hispanic markets are likely to go the same way.
If only this discussion had come up a few weeks from now, I would have first rather than second hand comments to add. As it is, I would like to point out something no one else has–there is, and always has been, a fairly strong market amongst indigent residents to shop in immigrant stores. (You don’t have to be Jewish to love Levy’s?) This is how food culture evolves. People start to taste what immigrants eat and then adapt it to their own preferences and that is where the melting truly starts.
In the San Diego area, I know from that second hand experience I mentioned, more and more people are shopping in the Hispanic stores and finding food that they like and enjoy. The reports I’ve had of this are of clean, friendly stores with interesting products. They are also more favorable (the reports, that is) than the response to Fresh & Easy which is trying to attract Americans. Hispanic stores, I believe, are what they are but still have what seems to me a growing number of non-Hispanic shoppers. I am looking forward to checking this out and forming my own opinion when I get down there next month.
Among some family photographs is a store front of a grocery store on East 12th Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The store belonged to my mother’s uncle. The picture was taken in 1912. The signage and the features posted in the window of the store were in Italian.
Obviously, the store catered to a neighborhood of Italian immigrants. Not surprisingly, the store is no longer there. I don’t know if it lasted through the next generation. But I do know if one walks the Lower East Side one would find many Indian shops and restaurants, obviously opened to serve a new local immigrant.
The point is that the first generation plus of immigrants needs access to things they are familiar with. Their concentration in a geographical area will support specialty stores. In the meantime, they will sample American products and adopt some. The operators of the ethnic oriented stores with a long-term focus will start to bring “mainstream” products into their store and over time, as the neighborhoods change, both in makeup and generation, will adapt to the demands of their customers. Or, they will go out of business.
What are the steps these stores have to take to survive? It is simple and not different than the key ingredient of any successful retailer. They must know their customer. Knowing the customer can take several avenues from simply responding to product requests to carefully watching the growth or decline of their offerings, or regularly doing full blown research.
A funny thing occurred to me the other night when Ted Kennedy spoke at the Democratic National Convention. I noted that he had a whisper of a Boston accent. That is not how I remember him 40-years ago. I remember a heavy accent, like his brothers. Perhaps, that is a good example of the American Melting Pot Phenomena? Operators of ethnic stores should think about that carefully.
It’s not an issue of acculturation or mainstream. The proper perspective needs to be applied here…history needs to be studied, and the marketing disciplined needs to be applied. What does Americanized mean? The word itself is a political word, it doesn’t have a role in marketing.
American culture has been constantly reshaped over the years by immigrants, not the other way around.
Ethnic markets will evolve with time, but will remain true to its core and offer products to satisfy the immigrant desires. The position of the mainstream markets might grow to become the mainstream preferences, as opposed to the markets ceasing to be ethnic markets.
Mainstream markets will need to evolve in order to satisfy the immigrants influence to the American culture, or they will stop being relevant.
Most mainstream markets offer serrano peppers, tomatillos, and cilantro…salsa is as ubiquitous as catchup. And this is not limited to Hispanic influences, we also have hummus available in the deli counters and multiple Asian products.
Many years ago, grocers also began introducing new products to satisfy the immigrants desires, exotic products with German names began appearing, the bakeries began presenting eastern European products, and Italian spices became part of the mainstream.
Eventually, the ultimate American products–which are the combination of this country’s immigrant heart and core become so commonplace that nobody thinks of the origin of Thai pizza, serrano-humus, or chipotle-calamari. And in some cases, these American creations make their way to other countries grocery aisles.
The easiest answer is to not alienate any of your customers. Carrying an optimized mix of merchandise that caters to everyone is the goal of successful merchandising. I don’t see why merchants can’t sell some of everything. Stores must get creative with layouts. The multicultural marketplace will always exist and retailers should grow their offerings.
I don’t think the Hispanic stores need to become more Americanized. Hispanic stores appeal to more than just Hispanic immigrants. For decades they have appealed to Hispanic American citizens and those stores haven’t found a need to become more Americanized. Their customer base is comprised of Hispanics, some of which who’s children can’t even speak Spanish.
For the most part, American supermarket chains have done a poor job appealing to Hispanic consumers. Otherwise we would not have so many small high volume Hispanic neighborhood stores. The one exception would be HEB which is in a Tex-Mex world of their own. In Miami, the Cuban supermarkets now cater to the children and grandchildren of Cuban immigrants. What do we see? Publix developing a Hispanic format. Not Sedano’s trying to become Winn-Dixie.
Immigrants tend to have a desire to fit in to their adopted surroundings while maintaining key aspects of their culture. Food is often the link since it is handed down in families and is expressed in the comfort of the home.
Latino markets cater to the needs of the Hispanic population with specialty items often not carried by the major chains and an atmosphere “more like home.” As Hispanics become more acculturated, they adapt to the mainstream retail marketplace and the mainstream stores adopt the items they seek.
More Discussions
As Boomers ‘Age Out of Peak Purchasing,’ How Can National Brands Retain Interest With Gen Z?
According to a recent First Insight study titled “Is Gen Z Still Choosing Your Brand,” while…Is Supply Chain Volatility Here To Stay?
Can we expect an ongoing volatility to remain in terms of retail supply chain?Has Same-Day Delivery Become an Expectation Across Retail?
Are expectations around retail delivery speed in flux?
I don’t see why a grocery store can’t be authentically Latino and Americanized at the same time. The Rainbow Market in my Sacramento suburb of Lincoln, CA, caters successfully to both the previous majority of Hispanic families and the growing majority of retirement community residents. The store is bilingual in approach, carries all of the “Americanized” items one could want, but also features a Mexican food section that is just killer. I’m in there all the time. Fresh tortillas. The best chorizo. Head-on fish. Chayote, plantain, prickly pear, platanos, and squash blossoms. Cheeses like Oaxaca, requeson, queso blanco, and manchego. Sauces not found in other mainstream supermarkets in the area. I see many of my Del Webb neighbors shopping there, perhaps becoming “Latinized?”
I agree that most traditional grocery stores have done a very poor job of featuring ethnic foods. To a large extent, though, the Hispanic and Oriental grocers have not been particularly interested in reaching a broader audience either.
From my own personal experience in the second American-born generation in my family, I can recall visits to my grandparents Chicago neighborhood with its German bakeries and Jewish delis. All are gone now. A few linger, sandwiched between Indian groceries. It is the nature of change as each immigrant group supports its traditions, which fade away as subsequent generations are absorbed into our common culture. The Hispanic markets are likely to go the same way.
If only this discussion had come up a few weeks from now, I would have first rather than second hand comments to add. As it is, I would like to point out something no one else has–there is, and always has been, a fairly strong market amongst indigent residents to shop in immigrant stores. (You don’t have to be Jewish to love Levy’s?) This is how food culture evolves. People start to taste what immigrants eat and then adapt it to their own preferences and that is where the melting truly starts.
In the San Diego area, I know from that second hand experience I mentioned, more and more people are shopping in the Hispanic stores and finding food that they like and enjoy. The reports I’ve had of this are of clean, friendly stores with interesting products. They are also more favorable (the reports, that is) than the response to Fresh & Easy which is trying to attract Americans. Hispanic stores, I believe, are what they are but still have what seems to me a growing number of non-Hispanic shoppers. I am looking forward to checking this out and forming my own opinion when I get down there next month.
Among some family photographs is a store front of a grocery store on East 12th Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The store belonged to my mother’s uncle. The picture was taken in 1912. The signage and the features posted in the window of the store were in Italian.
Obviously, the store catered to a neighborhood of Italian immigrants. Not surprisingly, the store is no longer there. I don’t know if it lasted through the next generation. But I do know if one walks the Lower East Side one would find many Indian shops and restaurants, obviously opened to serve a new local immigrant.
The point is that the first generation plus of immigrants needs access to things they are familiar with. Their concentration in a geographical area will support specialty stores. In the meantime, they will sample American products and adopt some. The operators of the ethnic oriented stores with a long-term focus will start to bring “mainstream” products into their store and over time, as the neighborhoods change, both in makeup and generation, will adapt to the demands of their customers. Or, they will go out of business.
What are the steps these stores have to take to survive? It is simple and not different than the key ingredient of any successful retailer. They must know their customer. Knowing the customer can take several avenues from simply responding to product requests to carefully watching the growth or decline of their offerings, or regularly doing full blown research.
A funny thing occurred to me the other night when Ted Kennedy spoke at the Democratic National Convention. I noted that he had a whisper of a Boston accent. That is not how I remember him 40-years ago. I remember a heavy accent, like his brothers. Perhaps, that is a good example of the American Melting Pot Phenomena? Operators of ethnic stores should think about that carefully.
It’s not an issue of acculturation or mainstream. The proper perspective needs to be applied here…history needs to be studied, and the marketing disciplined needs to be applied. What does Americanized mean? The word itself is a political word, it doesn’t have a role in marketing.
American culture has been constantly reshaped over the years by immigrants, not the other way around.
Ethnic markets will evolve with time, but will remain true to its core and offer products to satisfy the immigrant desires. The position of the mainstream markets might grow to become the mainstream preferences, as opposed to the markets ceasing to be ethnic markets.
Mainstream markets will need to evolve in order to satisfy the immigrants influence to the American culture, or they will stop being relevant.
Most mainstream markets offer serrano peppers, tomatillos, and cilantro…salsa is as ubiquitous as catchup. And this is not limited to Hispanic influences, we also have hummus available in the deli counters and multiple Asian products.
Many years ago, grocers also began introducing new products to satisfy the immigrants desires, exotic products with German names began appearing, the bakeries began presenting eastern European products, and Italian spices became part of the mainstream.
Eventually, the ultimate American products–which are the combination of this country’s immigrant heart and core become so commonplace that nobody thinks of the origin of Thai pizza, serrano-humus, or chipotle-calamari. And in some cases, these American creations make their way to other countries grocery aisles.
The easiest answer is to not alienate any of your customers. Carrying an optimized mix of merchandise that caters to everyone is the goal of successful merchandising. I don’t see why merchants can’t sell some of everything. Stores must get creative with layouts. The multicultural marketplace will always exist and retailers should grow their offerings.
I don’t think the Hispanic stores need to become more Americanized. Hispanic stores appeal to more than just Hispanic immigrants. For decades they have appealed to Hispanic American citizens and those stores haven’t found a need to become more Americanized. Their customer base is comprised of Hispanics, some of which who’s children can’t even speak Spanish.
For the most part, American supermarket chains have done a poor job appealing to Hispanic consumers. Otherwise we would not have so many small high volume Hispanic neighborhood stores. The one exception would be HEB which is in a Tex-Mex world of their own. In Miami, the Cuban supermarkets now cater to the children and grandchildren of Cuban immigrants. What do we see? Publix developing a Hispanic format. Not Sedano’s trying to become Winn-Dixie.
Immigrants tend to have a desire to fit in to their adopted surroundings while maintaining key aspects of their culture. Food is often the link since it is handed down in families and is expressed in the comfort of the home.
Latino markets cater to the needs of the Hispanic population with specialty items often not carried by the major chains and an atmosphere “more like home.” As Hispanics become more acculturated, they adapt to the mainstream retail marketplace and the mainstream stores adopt the items they seek.