Dive Summary:
- Food companies like Pilgrim's Pride, Campbell's and Nestlé are adopting a variety of new flavors and packaging to meet the demands of shifting demographics from the United States' growing Latin American and Asian immigrant populations, as well as its growing number of young people with adventurous tastes.
- Market research firm The Mintel Group estimates that ethnic food sales in grocery stores, particularly Middle Eastern and Mediterranean foods, will grow over 20% between 2012 and 2017--and the market has already grown 4.5% to $8.7 billion between 2010 and 2012.
- Thanks to the changing demographics, consumers can now experience such products as Campbell's tomato soup with additional flavoring from coconut and lemongrass, Doritos flavored with red chillies and lime, and Hispanic staples such as the chocolate product Abuelita and Mexico's fruit-flavored Jarritos sodas.
From the article:
... Chuck Vila, vice president for customer and consumer insights at Campbell’s, said that it was not just the rise of new ethnic groups but also how ethnicity was affecting the buying decisions of millennials, those from 18 to 30-something who are being courted by food and restaurant companies. About 40 percent of the people in that age group identify themselves as something other than white, Mr. Vila said. ...
