The Hispanic community is the fastest-growing ethnic group in the nation and spends more than $94.7 billion on CPG products annually, according to a report released by IRI, Chicago. The study, “Hispanics and New Product Pacesetters,” reveals how CPG marketers have a great opportunity to capture more shopping dollars from Hispanic consumers.

“By 2020, Hispanics will account for over half of the population growth in the United States, and their spending power will also increase significantly,” says Susan Viamari, vice president of thought leadership. “Unfortunately, most marketers don’t have easy access to detailed information on what Hispanic shoppers are buying, including in key CPG categories. This significantly limits new growth opportunities for brands, so we examined what Hispanics are buying and even why they are buying products to help marketers engage with these very important consumers.”

While Hispanic buying power is concentrated in select markets, including New Mexico, Texas, California, Florida, Nevada, Colorado, New Jersey, New York and Illinois, their interest in new products is spread across retail departments. Among those consumers who consider themselves avid new product adopters, there is a particular interest in the following departments: 26% English-speaking Hispanics, 29% bilingual Hispanics, 25% Spanish-speaking Hispanics and 23% non-Hispanics for food and 19% English-speaking Hispanics, 20% bilingual Hispanics, 13% Spanish-speaking Hispanics and 16% non-Hispanics for beverages. 

The top healthy eating considerations vary significantly across Hispanic sectors (English-speaking Hispanics, bilingual Hispanics, Spanish-speaking Hispanics and non-Hispanics). For example:

“Hispanics are a highly diverse group, based on factors such as age, income, media preferences and language preference — English-preferred, bilingual or Spanish-preferred,” says Staci Covkin, principal of consumer and shopper marketing. “Attracting Hispanics requires an understanding of these language preferences, along with their digital and social preferences, to quickly see a huge opportunity for CPG across food, beauty, home and healthcare brands. Aligning a new product launch with the needs of Hispanic shoppers is rapidly becoming a critical success factor for sustained CPG and retail growth, so improved insights and activation of these shoppers can result in significant sales and market share uplift.”