Hispanic Businesses- Spectrum of Food Companies

by Marcelo Salup

 

 

Hispanic Businesses and Franchises—Growth Opportunities

For many Hispanics, a franchise is another way to go. For their investment, franchisees get a developed business with a road map, procedures and benchmarks to help them become successful with instant brand recognition.

In its July 2011 issue, Poder360 identified the top 25 franchises for Hispanics. Of these 25, nine were in the restaurant business and include big names like McDonald’s, Burger King and Subway, but also relatively small chains such as Pizza Patron, Church’s Chicken and el Pollo Loco, where investments are not that steep.

Poder360 also identified the proportion of Hispanic owners in several franchises, including:

 

Restaurant Units % Hispanic
McDonald’s 12,464 25%
Taco Maker 130 88%
Pizza Patron 97 57%

Many large franchisors (e.g., McDonald’s, Burger King) have specific minority-oriented programs to bring Hispanics and other minorities onboard.

Hispanic Businesses and Food-Industry Sectors—Growth Opportunities

While we have looked at the most obvious segments of the food industry—restaurants and food preparation—it has many other avenues to success:

1.  The restaurant business:

 

  • “Regular” restaurants
  • Franchises. Some don’t require huge investments and, often, franchising is the fastest track to success.
  • Food trucks. This is one of the fastest-growing segments, doesn’t require a huge investment and is “hot” in many major cities
  • Street vendors. Again, no huge investment is necessary. In many cities, there are companies that distribute to street vendors (e.g., Ricky’s Arepas in Miami). Also, the trucks that cater to construction sites are good avenues for entrepreneurs
  • Servers
  • Cooks
  • Management

2.  Food sales:

 

  • Ethnic markets (bodegas, colmados, etc.). These are mostly small companies—basically, mom-and-pop operations that serve limited neighborhoods. However, the smaller size, limited inventory and higher margins make small markets especially attractive to entrepreneurs.
  • Supermarkets
  • Specialty stores (e.g., desserts)
  • Convenience stores
  • Tortillerias

3. Farming:

 

 

  • Equipment manufacturing

4. Food preparation:

 

 

  • Slaughterhouses
  • Packaging

5.  Transportation

 

 

  • Distribution
  • Transportation

Hispanic Businesses and the Food Industry—Looking Forward

In looking at all the figures, there are some areas that need improvement:

1. Moving up the ladder.

Right now, the employment picture is heavily biased towards lower-paying jobs. There are several things that can be done to turn the tide towards the higher-paying ones.

 

 

  • Pursuing higher education
  • Improving mentorship inside organizations
  • Networking in professional organizations

2. Entrepreneurship.

Hispanics lag in owning their own businesses, yet, with the whole market trending Hispanic, this is a great moment to capitalize on it, by:

 

 

  •  Taking entrepreneurship and business classes in local universities
  • Understanding and taking more advantage of government programs available for small businesses
  • Gaining access to increasing capital
  • Partnering with larger, more established companies

Hispanic Businesses and the Food Industry—the Bottom Line

Hispanic food is delicious, distinctive and “hot.” Perhaps more importantly, though, is that the Hispanic food industry is a great way to realize the American Dream. The only thing a Hispanic business needs to decide is the best path to get there, whether as the sole owner of a restaurant, a franchisee of an existing restaurant chain, as part of the food-industry support infrastructure, or food manufacturer, among other options. Once a decision has been made, it’s clear that the future of the Hispanic food industry is very bright.

 

Some other articles by Marcelo:

Hispanic Businesses and the Food Industry

4 Steps To Pump Up Your Marketing Muscle

Is Social Media Good For Business?

The Washington Post Morphs To The Amazon Post?

Social Media Lessons Learned From MTV

A Messaging Strategy To Reach 3 Consumer States