Hispanic Trending quoted in Stagnito Communications Publication

March, 2007 edition of Food and Drug Packaging
by Megan Waitkoff, Associate Editor

If you're not targeting the Hispanic market, you're already behind.

According to the 2006 Minority Buying Power Report released by the University of Georgia 's Selig Center for Economic Growth, Hispanic buying power is expected to exceed $863 billion in 2007. Hispanics are also expected to control more disposable personal income than any other U.S. minority group this year.

One of the most important advantages a company (and its packaging team) can have is knowing its target market inside and out. Unfortunately, most companies trying to target the Hispanic market have missed the mark.

The Hispanic population in the U.S. consists of the cultures of multiple countries whose only overlying similarity is the Spanish language?and even that varies depending on the country.

?There are so many factors involved, besides which country,? says Coni Lefferts, president of Creative Packaging Solutions and its Soluciones Creadores de Envase division. ?There's Mexico versus Cuba versus Puerto Rico . Each country has its own interest and preferences, and it all depends on the acculturation of each. People bunch them together. Name has nothing to do with it. Skin color and hair color have nothing to do with it. And it's not an ethnicity?it's a total countrywide issue.?

According to Laura Sonderup, director of Heinrich Hispanidad, in a Feb. 22, 2007 , post on Juan Tornoe's Hispanic Trending Blog, the market consists of 20 countries in Central and South America , the Caribbean and Spain , with the majority of Mexican heritage. (Juan Tornoe's blog is a great resource to follow Hispanic trends and marketing. Check it out at http://juantornoe.blogs.com/hispanictrending/ )

According to Lefferts, successfully creating products and packages that will appeal to the Hispanic population requires tailoring them to each sub-population and then distributing them geographically. On the West Coast, for example, the Mexican population is the most predominant. In southern Florida , it's Cuban and Columbian, and in New York , it's Puerto Rican and Dominican. While this might seem like a headache of overwhelming stock-keeping units, the challenges of running smaller batches will be rewarded with successful sales and repeat purchases.

Goya, a family-run food company that offers Spanish, Mexican and Hispanic specialties, is effectively and successfully breaking down its product offerings by geographic region. On the Goya eStore web page, products are organized by Mexican, Caribbean , Central American and South American subcategories?each with a symbol that represents the respective cultures (check it out at www.goya.com). Products in each line are adorned with a label following a bright red, yellow and blue color scheme. Most all packages are bilingual, and if the product was produced in Mexico , the label proudly displays a Mexican flag with the ?Producto de Mexico? text to further connect with consumers.

Companies should also study how the Hispanic population shops. It is still very much a matriarchal society, with the grandmothers and mothers making the majority of the purchases (often with the help of children, if there is a language barrier). They seldom do ?one-stop-shopping? trips, but instead go to the grocery store often. Hispanics also typically go knowing exactly what they need and leave only having purchased those items. They are seldom impulse shoppers.

?They go shopping every week, so they don't need extended shelf life,? Lefferts says. ?In most cases, they have a limited pantry area in their homes, so they're not going to buy in bulk or large packages.?

Hispanics are also price-conscious, Lefferts says, so one of the best places to try to connect with them is in discount stores. The Publix Super Market chain, most prevalent in Florida , has also recently started a Sabor (Spanish for flavor) chain with two locations in Florida . Dedicated to the Hispanic market, the chain offers a larger variety of Caribbean , and Central and South American products. All Sabor ads and product information are in English and Spanish, further catering to the market. Prominent shelf placement at this growing chain is sure to be a smart move. (For more info on this chain, visit www.publix.com/sabor.)

As far as package characteristics go, the brighter the colors, the better?particularly the lime, lemon, berry and citrus colors. According to Linda Carroll, color insight manager with Ampacet, warm, passionate and vibrant reds and oranges have promoted a sense of independence and cultural heritage for the Hispanic market.

Lefferts says a lot of visuals in the package?colors and graphics?is more important than having a lot of text explaining the product. And graphics that link specifically to Hispanic heritage can be a bond with the consumer.

?Being Hispanic is a matter of pride,? Lefferts says. ?It's identity to their history.?

Bilingual packages are also a necessity to capture the market. In many households, a mother (or mother figure) is shopping with her children. Often times, the mother speaks and reads Spanish while the children speak and read both Spanish and English. Bilingual packages are a way to capture both members who influence purchase decisions.

But above all, please, please, please make sure the translation is correct, Tornoe says, even if it's a matter of spending a few extra dollars to pass the package through a professional translator.

?I appreciate you trying, but if it's going to be something printed, to take off a shelf and take home, you have to have the correct spelling and accents,? he says.

Also, make sure you're aware of all translations or implied meanings of words. When Hershey's developed a package for the Hispanic market, they labeled it chocolate blanco con cajeta. Cajeta is commonly understood in Mexico to mean a carmelized milk used in desserts. But in other Hispanic cultures, the word refers to female anatomy. There are plenty of other examples.

But putting correctly translated bilingual text isn't the end of it.

?If you have that, and there's a 1-800 number to call, you have to be able to deal with those calls in Spanish,? Tornoe says. ?It's not only putting the label on and hoping for the best. You have to walk the walk afterward.?

As Mona Doyle points out in this month's Consumer Corner column (p.20), flexible pouches and Tetra Paks are the staple in Mexico , but similar packaging for the Hispanic market in the United States has not been popular. In fact, packaging for the Hispanic market in general has not been very innovative.

?In the Academy Award nominations for best foreign films, three are from Mexican directors,? Doyle says. ?There's so much visual creativity. Why aren't we seeing that in packaging??

But the right make-up can only get you so far. Continuing stereotypes is also a way to turn off the Hispanic market, not attract them.

?Just translating into Spanish and putting on a sombrero is not marketing,? Tornoe says. ?It's about understanding the culture and the small idiosyncracies. They're not aliens. They use the same products as you do.?

Some previous attempts at capturing the market have been successful, while others have failed. In 2004, Palmera Wines debuted a line called Vinos de Pasion (Wines of Passion) that featured stereotypic label graphics representing Latino culture, heritage and diversity. The wines didn't last past a few toasts. Companies need to think about whether or not developing a separate product and packaging for the Hispanic market makes sense, Tornoe says.

?You're not going to create an Hispanic toothpaste, but just recognize that there's a need for the product information in our language of choice,? he says. ?With the wine, it doesn't need to be Hispanic. It needs to be a good wine. Just make the label bilingual.?

JossClaude Products also released Formula Latina, hair care products designed specifically for the market and packaged in white bottles with bright orange and pink text. Ravinia Partners introduced AguaBlue in standard plastic bottles but sporting a label featuring the flags of all Latin American countries and the U.S. flag.

AguaBlue is the only product still being produced.

A few events coming up in April might help you fine tune your packaging and develop comprehensive marketing strategies to hit the Hispanic market. On April 17 and 18, the Multicultural Marketing Summit will take place in Miami Beach , Fla. The event will focus on Hispanic, Asian American and Ethnic marketing. For more information, visit www.iqpc.com/us/multiculturalmarketing.com. Stick around in Miami a few more weeks to attend Voz Latina, the 3 rd Annual Hispanic Marketing Conference, on April 26. To find out more about this event, go to www.marketingtohispanics.com/vozlatina/index.jsp.