Hispanic-Oriented Products the Stand-Out at IDDBA Show

by Marilyn Raymond for RetailWire

Having returned from last month’s International Dairy, Deli, Bakery trade show it is quite apparent that companies are finally recognizing the opportunity in catering to the Hispanic community. Many new products featured at the IDDBA made some overture in this direction. Many companies were just offering new flavor extensions with dulce de leche as part of the line while others were offering authentic Mexican goodies with authentic flavor profiles. The one most obvious leap in catering to Hispanics was the array of bilingual labeling.

Sargento has taken a leadership roll in being one of the first mainstream brands to offer fully bilingual labeling on their nationally distributed, non-refrigerated snacks. To look at their Strawberry and Sprinkles (Vanilla Cookie Sticks and Strawberry Cream with Rainbow Sprinkles) package one will find not only the product description in Spanish and English but also the nutritional labeling, the ingredient panel and the content amount.

As a Canadian there is an uncanny resemblance to the bilingual labels that Canadian products have used for years.

Not seen at IDDBA but new to our collection are a few other examples. Dole too is offering bilingual labeling with their refrigerated OJ, although there is some secondary copy that is in English only. Gatorade Xtremo and Unilever’s new Best Foods mayonnaise with lime juice have taken slightly different approaches highlighting the front panel Spanish copy in a larger font than the English text.

Although I can’t say I saw anything really NEW, by that I mean innovative, I did see some great extensions that are addressing consumers’ need for more meal solutions and portable snacks.

• Cured Meats Go Bite Size
  
  Old Wisconsin introduced Party Bites Beef Sausages, Busseto — dry salami
  nuggets and Abraham (a German company) was showcasing diced prosciutto. These
  products would no doubt offer convenient alternatives when entertaining or
  munching on your own.

• More Single Serves
  
  DaVinti, Canada is to start shipment on a breakfast pizza. Tribe will soon
  be offering an on-the-go hummus product and Giggles to Go is offering convenient
  grilled cheese and peanut butter & jam sandwiches as a SKU on its own or in
  a luncheon kit.

• Color Moves to Cheese
  
  Henning’s Mozza Whips — mozzarella sticks were being displayed in three outrageously
  bright colors — red, blue and green. The intensity of these colors is something
  only an eight-year old could love. But, the exhibitor said that they were
  generating a great deal of interest from retailers so we can only guess that
  they will show up in someone’s lunch pack before the year is out!

Moderator Comment: On a scale of 1-10, how innovative are CPG and retail marketers? How do successful companies create an environment that promotes innovative thinking?

We’re feeling generous after the long holiday weekend, so we’ll give the industry
a four. For publicly traded businesses, the first step to innovation is to take
the company private. Wall Street demands innovation as long as it is 100 percent
foolproof. You can’t do business that way. You can go out of business that way,
however. [George
Anderson – Moderator]