Latin Foodservice Market Heating Up to $25 Billion by 2015

New York, October 20, 2006 — Mall Mexican is out! Nuevo Latino and fusion are in…as are Peruvian, Guatemalan, Dominican, and Bolivian. Foods that five years ago were unheard of except in immigrant households are taking foodservice by storm. And the potential to drive Latin foodservice sales to $25 billion by 2015 is very real, according to Latin on the Menu: The U.S. Foodservice Market for Hispanic Foods, the latest market research from Packaged Facts.

According to the report, the foodservice market for Latin foods was worth $18 billion in 2005. The fastest growing ethnic food category, Latin is second only to Asian. And the general agreement among restaurant industry analysts is that growth in both Latin dining establishments and Latin menu items will escalate—with more than a little help from the growing buying power of Hispanics, which is expected to reach $1 trillion by 2010.

Packaged Facts observes that Latin-themed quick-service restaurants (QSRs) have been growing twice as fast as QSRs overall. In non-commercial, onsite, and institutional foodservice, 67% of operators now menu Latin foods, a trend that was barely visible five years ago. Latin chains are all the rage, many showing high double-digit growth over the last several years. Even tortillas have taken off, with 2007 sales expected to reach $7 billion.

“Latin just keeps getting hotter as the American palate discovers the tropical delights of native fare that was previously unavailable,” notes Rachel P. Maines, Ph.D., the report’s author. “Flavors are liberally being fused—both by top chefs in metropolitan fine dining establishments and home-grown, immigrant chefs in small, family-owned restaurants—to create interesting world flavor experiences that are leaving consumers begging for more.”

Latin on the Menu analyzes the trends, drivers, and consumers growing the Latin dining category. Covering all dining-out experiences, including institutional dining, as well as supplier and producer profiles, it is the most comprehensive analysis of the U.S. Latin dining experience available. Priced at $3,000, this report is available from Packaged Facts by visiting: http://www.packagedfacts.com/pub/1194169.html. It is also available at MarketResearch.com.

About Packaged Facts
Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer industries, including consumer goods and retailing, food and beverage, and demographics. For more information visit www.PackagedFacts.com, or contact Tom Ehart at 240.747.3014, or tehart@marketresearch.com.