Baking & Snack - April 2016 - 44

HISPANIC FOODS

In October, Milling & Baking News reported that
Grupo Bimbo, Mexico City, is gaining a foothold with
its Mexican brands such as Takis, a corn chip produced
by Grupo Bimbo subsidiary Barcel USA. During an
October call with analysts, Fred Penny, president, Bimbo
Bakeries USA, said that Bimbo and Marinela are two
Mexican brands that account for "a significant portion of
our sweet goods business." Chairman and CEO Daniel
Servitje noted that the company's sweet goods portfolio made a smooth transition to the US market from
Mexico, and the salty snacks like Takis are following suit.
"We have a separate team working on these categories
with synergies also with the Bimbo Bakeries' business in
many regions in the country, and we're very pleased with
the growth," Mr. Servitje said. "We have a plant in the US
focused on basically producing these salty snacks items,
and we also do a lot of export from the Mexico zone. So
that's a growing business."
Tortillas are not a onesize-fits-all food. Different
Hispanic cultures enjoy
different tortillas.

More than Mexican

Pan Pepin

Trend-watching - inside-out
Although the US Hispanic population's
purchasing power and food preferences
are influencing eating trends among
non-Hispanics, it's worth taking a look at
the inverse of influence, as well.
"I've always believed that in Puerto
Rico, trends are usually four to five years
behind the US," said Mario Somoza,
president and CEO, Pan Pepin. During
the past decade, health-and-wellness has
gained momentum in the US. That trend
is now making its way to the island,
particularly its multigrain, all-natural and
non-GMO angles, Mr. Somoza observed.
Pan Pepin recently took a leap of faith
and launched new products along these
lines. "These new products are exceeding our expectations," Mr. Somoza noted.
"They're expensive products - the most
expensive fresh bread on the market is
one of our all-natural products," he said.
Although it's pricy for consumers, it has
outpaced any projections the company
had for it. "I think that's the influence of
health and wellness eating habits in the
US that are now affecting us locally in
Puerto Rico."

44 Baking & Snack April 2016 / www.bakingandsnack.com

With proximity on its side, it's not only easy for Mexican
foods and flavors to quickly gain popularity in US markets, especially in large border states such as Texas and
California, but it's also easy for American consumers
and marketers to assume that "Hispanic" directly translates to "Mexican."
Not so.
"In terms of the Hispanic population in South Florida,
we don't have the same situation as California or Texas
with Mexicans, where there's one particular ethnicity,"
said Luis Lacal, general manager, Bakery Corp., Miami.
"In South Florida, you have about 20 different nationalities, so any product you want to bring to the market
doesn't go to just one."
Some products gaining popularity, Mr. Lacal observed, include Colombian pan de queso, Cuban or
Argentinian empanadas and Mexican bolillo. However,
Bakery Corp. actually faced challenges in creating
Hispanic products in an area with high Hispanic multiculturalism. "In Miami, you've got about 70% Cubans,
and the other 30 to 40% is divided between 15 or 20 different nationalities," he said. "Quite a few years ago, we
got into the Latin flavors, especially with muffins and
pastries, using mango, guava, dulce de leche, pineapple
- tropical flavors from the Caribbean - and it did
work for a while, but you have so many Hispanic bakeries - Mexican, Cuban, Colombian - you have a lot of
bakeries already taking care of that."
In the end, Bakery Corp. chose to concentrate on the
American foodservice business, including hotels, restaurants and cruise lines, making French breads and
dinner rolls. Interestingly, the bakery also produces an
RTE Cuban sandwich that's made with French bread.

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Baking & Snack - April 2016

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