Create Signature Cakes Crea Pasteles Distintivos - Your BakeMark

CONSUMER TRENDS
38 MARCH 10 | PANADERIA
Fast-rising Hispanic
Population Fuels More
Purchasing Power
As the federal government
prepares this year for its decennial
count of the U.S. population, it is
important to recognize the significant
contributions and purchasing
habits of America’s rapidly growing
Hispanic population.
The United States will be home
to an estimated 47.8 million Hispanics
in 2010, according to projections
by the U.S. Census Bureau,
marking a 35% increase over the
past decade. Should this current
pace of growth continue, there will
be an estimated 102.6 million Hispanics
in America by the year 2050,
a remarkable climb from the early
1980s when the rapid acceleration
of Hispanics coming to the United
States began.
Hispanics accounted for one
half of the nation’s population
growth between 2000 and 2006.
California, with 13.1 million Hispanics,
is the No. 1 state where Hispanics
in America live, followed by
Texas (8.4 million), Florida (3.6 million),
New York (3.1 million) and Illinois
(1.9 million).
Yet other states are beginning
to see rapid growth rates of Hispan-
ic populations. From 2000 to 2006,
Arkansas experienced the largest
percentage growth rate (60.9%)
of Hispanics among states where
more than 100,000 Hispanics live.
Georgia (59.4%) ranked second in
percentage growth rate, followed
by South Carolina (57.4%), Tennessee
(55.5%), and North Carolina
(54.9%).
It is also worthwhile to recognize
the differences in the origins of
the Hispanic populations now living
in the United States. According to
the Census Bureau, Mexicans account
for 64% of the U.S. Hispanic
population, followed by Puerto Rican
(9%), Cuban (3.4%), and Dominican
(2.8%).
All told, Hispanic purchasing
power in the United States is projected
to approach $1 trillion this
year, up from $700 billion in 2004,
according to HispanTelligence research,
as reported by HispanicBusiness.com.
For the most part, the United
States continues to be a country
separated by race and ethnicity. In
1990, the most concentrated 50%
of Hispanics lived in neighbor-
hoods that were at least 48% Hispanic,
according to Nielsen studies.
By 2000, the most concentrated
50% lived in neighborhoods that
were at least 51% Hispanic, meaning
that Hispanics were more concentrated
geographically in 2000
than in 1990. Much of this can be
attributed to the rapid growth in the
Hispanic population between 1990
and 2000, driven by immigration
with many new immigrants moving
into Hispanic-dominant neighborhoods.
More recent statistics are not
available to show whether this trend
continues.
ValUE SHOPPERS
One trend that is easily spotted
is the importance of value to Hispanic
food shoppers. Many Hispanic
shoppers are buying more private
brand products, a trend expected to
continue in the future based on research
by the Food Marketing Institute
Private Brands Group presented
in the new report, “Se Habla Isn’t
Enough: Private Brands Among Hispanics
2009,” which was released in
December.
In fact, the research found that