Untapped potential in Hispanic marketUntapped potential in Hispanic market

Fern Glazer

It’s no longer a secret that U.S. Hispanics, who make some 6 billion restaurant visits and spend $30 billion annually, are critical to the health of the restaurant industry. But most restaurants are simply not yet speaking this population’s language — figuratively or literally, according to new data from market research firm The NPD Group.


Despite a positive first quarter for the restaurant industry overall, Hispanics made steep cutbacks on restaurant visits this winter, according to NPD’s CREST Hispanic report. CREST Hispanic is NPD’s new market report conducted in conjunction with Garcia Research.


“We need [Hispanics] to adopt foodservice habits, to become foodservice users,” said NPD analyst Michele Schmal. “If we don’t fin...