Cooking Up Hispanic Housewares Sales

The International Home and Housewares Show is being held this week in Chicago and among the many new products featured are several aimed at the U.S. Hispanic market.

Some products have arrived straight from Latin America (pots and pans from Mexico’s top selling cookware brand, for example) while others are designed specifically for Hispanic households, such as Megatrade International’s line of food containers.  The company sells containers meant to store traditional foods such as tortillas, rice and beans, aimed at among other targets, Hispanic laborers.

So naturally, I assumed that cookware companies selling Hispanic items would also be targeting the general market, but it appears from the article I read that their primary focus is the less acculturated Hispanic consumer and purists who want to use traditional tools from back home.

In 2005, total U.S. housewares sales totaled more than $76 million, an increase of 17 percent from 2004.  Given how much food, beverage and housewares companies are courting Hispanics, we can assume that Hispanics - of all acculturation levels - account for a good portion of that amount.

Hispanics who have close roots to their homes and cooking traditions have often resorted to asking friends and relatives or packing housewares such as areperas (Oster-made arepa makers from Venezuela), calderos (used in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico, etc.) and comales (from Mexico) when they move to the U.S.  Having access to products made and distributed in the U.S. can help with replacements and access. 

Yet, part of me wonders if houseware companies that overlook more acculturated segments of the U.S. Hispanic market, and the general market, too, are missing an opportunity.  More so when foods and recipes from Latin America are catching on and becoming very popular among general market palates.

What do you think? Leave your comments here.