Market remains largely untapped

Even though many cutting-edge marketers have for years successfully infused a Hispanic flavor into their overall marketing mix, the overall marketplace has yet to maximize the reach into this community relative to the overall buying power they wield.

(Click here to view the full OTC Megatrend Report 2016.)



The potential return on investment in engaging the Latino consumer still yields greater dividends than that of the crowded general market. “Whomever comes into these categories from a marketing standpoint has an opportunity to establish first-mover advantage,” Jorge Daboub, VP of business development at Univision, told Drug Store News. “If it’s not first-mover advantage, there are fewer players, less clutter. [Marketers] have an opportunity to develop a franchise against a consumer segment that can drive some significant growth.”



As a group, the Hispanic demographic represents $5.9 billion in the sale of nonprescription medicines alone (12% of the total U.S. spend), and sales of OTC products among Hispanic consumers is up more than 8% versus more than 5% among non-Hispanic companies.



Hispanic consumers are brand loyal — branded products capture 79% of Hispanic OTC sales versus only 75% of non-Hispanics. “They also tend to buy less on promotion than non-Hispanics,” Daboub said. “So they’re not gravitating to the private-label brands.”



They also represent more frequent shoppers who carry larger marketbaskets to the checkstand. Hispanic consumers buy 2.8 items per health and beauty trip versus 2.5 for non-Hispanics; they make 29 trips per buyer per year versus 27.8 trips per non-Hispanic buyer per year; and they spend $14.60 per trip versus $14 for non-Hispanic shoppers.



Some of the bigger growth opportunities within OTC include cough-cold and flu, a category that saw a 14% lift in sales among Hispanic consumers for the 52 weeks ended Aug. 8, 2015, according to Nielsen, versus a 9% lift in sales among non-Hispanic consumers. Similarly, allergy remedies saw a 13% lift in sales among Hispanics versus 9% among non-Hispanics, and family planning realized 9% growth among Hispanics versus 3% among non-Hispanics.