Targeting Hispanics and the Latest Beer Trends

December 18, 2014

Hispanics are the largest ethnic group in the U.S. and they have more than $1 trillion in spending power. Where is this spending going? Many of these consumers are reaching for beer in social environments or at the end of a long day at work.

Beer accounts for around half of Hispanics’ beverage alcohol volume sales and is in 45.0% of all Hispanic households, which is greater than non-Hispanics (38.8% of households). Hispanics are also one of the largest growing populations, expected to comprise 27% of the U.S. population by 2040. It is important that your sales staff knows where this population’s spending dollars are going.

Purchases from the above-premium beer segment are increasing among Hispanic consumers. As of May 2014, spending in this category grew over 9.5% from the year before while the growth among non-Hispanics was just over 7.1%. Also, imports have surpassed premium light’s dollar share of the beer market among Hispanics, reaching 31%. Of the top 10 growing brands among Hispanics, half are Mexican imports. And, appearing among this segment’s top brands are flavored offerings, such as fruit infusions, ciders, and shandies. Bud Light’s “Rita” and Redd’s Apple franchises are recent innovations based on cheladas, a Mexican beverage made with beer, lime juice, and assorted sauces, spices, and peppers. Hispanic-skewing convenience stores also offer a huge opportunity to market to Hispanic beer drinkers. Within these stores, beer dollar volume is up 5.8% versus the previous year, compared to 2.2% for convenience stores as a whole. Millennials, consumers under the age of 35, in general, are more likely to purchase flavored items compared to any other generation. The Hispanic population in the U.S. skews young: 59% are under the age of 35.

Hispanics and Millennials are two of the fastest-growing and important consumer groups in the U.S. To engage those consumers who fall in both groups, it is important to understand language’s effect in order to optimize advertising to this demographic that increasingly identifies as bilingual. According to a study by Nielsen, in the past decade, the number of bilingual speakers has increased 73%, replacing English-dominant speakers as the largest Hispanic subgroup. This study found that Spanish-language advertising did a better job connecting with bilingual Millennials in a variety of scenarios. Ads featuring social interaction were more emotionally engaging and memorable for this demographic in Spanish than in English.

Research Director, Inc. can be a valuable resource to you and your station as you target accounts geared toward Hispanic consumers. Our experts have access to an abundance of research and we are here to help get you on that buy!

-Morgan O’Connor, Research Specialist

Source: Nielsen, 10/9/14

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