• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, December 11, 2012

Food marketers looking to grow Hispanic market share will find it tough to succeed unless they understand Hispanic Millennials’ preferences.

Millennials ages 22 to 35 make up fully 65% of the U.S. Hispanic population -- and they do have somewhat different eating habits than non-Hispanic Millennials, according to new National Eating Trends Hispanic research from The NPD Group.

Hispanic Millennials show definite preferences for dishes reflecting their heritage. 

Hispanic dishes (excluding frozen) are part of 7% of all meals consumed by Hispanic Millennials, compared to 2% of non-Hispanic Millennial meals. 

Hispanic Millennials are considerably more prone to eating bread and plain rice than their age peers (12% versus 8%, and 8% versus 3%, respectively). 

On the other hand, they are less likely to eat sandwiches and ready-to-eat cereal (10% versus 16%, and 11% versus 13%, respectively). 

The two groups are about equally likely to eat fruit (8% versus 9%). 

The youthful U.S. Hispanic population clearly represents future opportunities for food and beverage marketers, especially now that their population growth is coming more from births than immigration, but brands need to understand various segments’ preferences and the influence of situational factors, points out NPD food and beverage industry analyst Darren Seifer.

"Hispanic Couple Eating photo from Shutterstock"