At FH Hispania Plaza, we recently covered the exploding popularity of chipotle peppers. As we noted back then, Americans are hungry for Latino cuisine.
So hungry, that Packaged Facts predicts the U.S. Hispanic food and beverage market – which includes “authentic Hispanic,” mainstream Mexican” and “nuevo Latino” categories – will grow by 11.3 percent this year to $6.3 billion.
And now mainstream media is picking up on the trend. Gourmet, the upscale epicurean magazine, has devoted its entire September issue to Latino cuisine in the U.S., and Everyday with Rachael Ray, the perky talk show host’s magazine, has added chef Daisy Martinez, host of her own PBS cooking show, as a monthly columnist.
On the broadcast side, chef’s Daisy’s show is going strong, and the Food Network has ordered more episodes of Simply Delicioso, hosted by Latina lifestyle goddess Ingrid Hoffman. (By the way, Ingrid also has a show on Galavision/Univision, making her the first TV host to have two shows in two languages on two networks – you go girl!)
What’s interesting about all this is that food and beverage marketers now have even more media vehicles for promoting their products – and a hungry marketplace willing to give them a try. Watch for more Latino chefs and media titles making it to the big time, and more Latino-inspired foods and beverages hitting the grocery store aisles very soon.
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