Nielsen reports on multicultural influences in produce

With the rapid growth of multicultural households in America and their unparalleled influence on the marketplace, there is a strong need for retailers to revise their in-store strategies to include a wider range of fresh food products and flavor profiles that cater to the multicultural consumer set. 

With this in mind, Nielsen released a comprehensive report to help retailers understand the influence multicultural consumers wield across produce and other categories.

The report entitled, A Fresh Look at Multicultural Consumers, reveals strategic insights for retailers looking to leverage new growth opportunities across the perimeter, over the next several decades.

Multicultural consumers are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population and the growth engine for fresh food categories within the grocery space. 

According to the latest Nielsen report, multicultural households spend a higher share on Fresh as a percentage of their total food spend compared to non-Hispanic White households. In fact, multicultural consumer shoppers make 3% more trips to the store containing fresh items and spend 4% more per year on fresh items, resulting in a $2.2 billion opportunity for retailers. 

For many multicultural families, Fresh is a dietary staple. The multicultural preference for fresh comes from cooking and eating norms that centrally reflect the unique cultures of African Americans, Asian Americans, and Hispanics. That said, the allure of multicultural flavors and the desire for fresh are influencing a wider range of shoppers, and becoming a key driving force for fresh growth.

“In order to tap this critical market, retailers need to rethink their delivery and assortment strategies of fresh products being offered to today’s increasingly multicultural shoppers,” said Courtney Jones, Vice President of Multicultural Growth & Strategy at Nielsen. 

“To be successful, retailers must understand the importance that culturally relevant, fresh offerings play in the multicultural shopper landscape. Retailers must also embrace the many layers of multicultural consumers and the undeniable ‘halo effect’ that those consumers are having on mainstream non-Hispanic White shoppers. The multicultural consumer covers a broad spectrum, from multi-generational families to millennials, to Asian American, African American, and Hispanic subgroups that have been influenced by distinct global culinary traditions. Retailers must consider the multiethnic tastes of their current and desired customers and recognize that the palates that favor multicultural flavors are influencing the taste preferences of non-Hispanic whites and society at large.”