Report: Hispanic Consumers Vital to Adult Beverage Industry

CHICAGO -- Over the next few decades, U.S. Hispanics will prove to be a key driver of the adult beverage industry. By 2015, Hispanics will account for 15 percent of the total U.S. legal drinking age (LDA) population. By 2045, one-quarter of the U.S. LDA population will be Hispanic, according to new research,Special Trends in Adult Beverage (TAB) Report: Hispanic Consumer Insights, from Technomic.

"Hispanics are an extremely important demographic group for the adult beverage industry, and many of their preferences and purchase habits are different from the general population," said Donna Hood Crecca, senior director at Chicago-based Technomic. "Currently, the LDA Hispanic population skews young and male, and strongly favors beer, tequila and red wine. Similar to the general population, they value variety and competitive pricing when purchasing adult beverages, but they buy them in a broader range of retail outlets. They enjoy adult beverages frequently, but consume more drinks and spend more per occasion than the general population, whether at a restaurant or bar or at home."

Specifically, the report found:

• Latinos most frequently buy adult beverages at liquor and wine stores (48 percent). However, they are more likely than the overall population to purchase at other types of retail outlets such as convenience stores (19 percent vs. 14 percent).
   
• Hispanics are more likely than the broader population to have purchased adult beverages online (17 percent vs. 11 percent) in the past year.
   
• Casual-dining restaurants are frequented by Hispanics, but English-dominant (36 percent) and bilingual (38 percent) Hispanics are more likely to order adult beverages during their visits than Spanish-dominant consumers (27 percent), and are also more likely to try new adult beverages in on-premise locations.
   
• Beer, particularly imported beer, is the top adult beverage choice for Hispanic consumers. Mexican beer is more preferred by Hispanics (85 percent) than general consumers (70 percent) when ordering drinks in restaurants and bars.
   
• Hispanics overindex on red wine varieties in restaurants and bars compared with the general population, particularly red blends (41 percent vs. 28 percent).