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Hispanic Supermarkets Are On The Rise

Posted by Lia Bulaong, March 21, 2007 at 2:55 PM

Great great story by Kim Severson in the New York Times today on how grocery chains have begun customizing their stores to target the increasingly affluent Latino shopper:

Although there is no one typical Hispanic shopper, some generalizations are driving the design of the new Latino-theme stores. Many have wider aisles because, research shows, grocery shopping is often a family outing. Hispanic families tend to be larger, and more people cook from scratch, so produce and meat departments tend to be bigger and better stocked. And loyalty to brands from the home country is strong. At Rancho Liborio, Tide is almost an afterthought. Mexican brands like Ariel dominate the shelves.

But the generalizations end there. The term Hispanic applies to people from many countries, each with particular preferences for things like fruit, meat, spices, bread and beans. Tastes can change from city to city, even neighborhood to neighborhood.

A walk through the dried-bean aisle at Rancho Liborio is a case in point. There are pintos, both the larger speckled brown ones preferred by Mexicans and the smaller, lighter-colored ones used in Peru. Pink beans appeal to Puerto Ricans, and black beans to Cubans, Guatemalans and Brazilians.

You don't have to be Hispanic to enjoy or benefit from shopping at a Rancho Liborio or other ethnic groceries, like those found in any Chinatown; what many people don't realize is that you can find many foods that are both cheaper and fresher than your average supermarket, and they're likely to have wider selections of fish, poultry and meat. Hooray for variety!

1 Comment | Tags: diversity, Hispanic, Latino, South American, supermarkets