As more and more Latinos are settling down in the United States, Mexican foods are replacing traditional American favorites.
TORTILLAS OVERTAKE BURGERS AND HOT DOGS AS AMERICA’S FAVORITE FAST FOOD AS EATING HABITS REFLECT CHANGING POPULATION
Ketchup has been overtaken as most popular condiment by salsa due in part to increasing proportion of Hispanic people in the U.S.
By William Turvill
Mail Online
October 17, 2013
Tortillas are now outselling popular American fast-foods including burger and hot dog buns.
As the population of Hispanic people in the US grows, the consumption of Latin American food continues to increase.
Research suggests people across the US now consider Hispanic foods 'American'.
Salsa, meanwhile, has become the best-selling condiment in the US - making it even more popular than ketchup.
Experts have suggested Hispanic food is being integrated into US culture in the same way Italian food was.
'When you think about pizza and spaghetti, it's the same thing,' said Jim Kabbani, CEO of the Tortilla Industry Association.
'People consider them American, not ethnic. It's the same with tortillas.'
The change in diet across the US comes as the number Latin Americans - who already represent nearly 20 per cent of the population - continues to grow.
Hispanic foods and beverages were an $8 billion market in the US last year, according to consumer research firm Packaged Facts. And by 2017, that number may reach $11 billion.
Even in 2000, the Tortilla Industry Association estimated Americans consumed approximately 85 billion tortillas a year.
According to InfoScan Reviews, a retail tracking service, tortilla sales increased at a faster pace (3.7 per cent) in supermarkets than potato chips (2.2 per cent) this year.
Although potato chips continue to be the top-selling salted snack in terms of pounds sold, 'the growth of tortilla chips is a little bit more robust than the growth of potato chips', Dempsey said.
Along with the increased proportion of Hispanic people in the US, research by Associated Press suggests those born between the early 1980s and 2000 have embraced the foods.
'They are looking for products that are not necessarily big brands anymore,' said Michael Bellas, chairman of the Beverage Marketing Corporation.
'They like brands that have character. They are looking for authenticity and purity, but they are also looking for new experiences.'
And it's not just food diets that are changing.
In 2006, nearly 107 million of litres of tequila were exported to the US, a 23 per cent increase on 2005, according to Judith Meza, representative of the Tequila Regulatory Council.
Rice has also become more popular in the American diet, according to Darren Seifer, a food and beverage analyst for The NPD Group, a consumer marketing organisation.
This is despite the fact that 'side dishes' have generally become less popular.
Research suggests one of the reasons Hispanic food has been embraced is that it is considered more healthy.
'When it comes to health, the Mexican cuisines cater better to that with salsas and vegetables,' said Alexandra Aguirre Rodriguez, an assistant professor of marketing at Florida International University.
A healthier option many Americans are choosing is the tomato-based salsa, which beat ketchup sales two-one, according to IRI, a Chicago-based market research firm.
Terry Soto, president and CEO of About Marketing Solutions, said: 'If I would look at 10 shopping carts, about half would have taco shells, the Americanized components to make enchiladas or tacos, or frozen chimichangas.
'There is a larger segment of the population that wants the real thing.
'It's not so much the products becoming mainstream. It's about ethnic food becoming that much more of what we eat on a day-to-day basis.'
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