Unemployment for Latinos remains stubbornly high, but Hispanics are expressing confidence in the economy by dropping more money -- on beer.
Beer sales tanked after the 2008 economic crisis. The industry is still in a rut, growing just 2 percent last year, after shrinking the year before.
But brewers have seen sales of imported beers in the United States spike by 6.5 percent this year, according to The Financial Times. Latinos drink more imported beer than any other group, according to marketing research firm Mintel. So, the surge in imported beer sales has some industry insiders thinking Latinos are beginning to rebound economically. Latino, black and Asian consumers buy over half of the beer imported to the country, The Financial Times reports.
That trend isn’t lost on U.S. beer giants like Anheiser Busch, which bought up Mexico’s Grupo Modelo -- producer of Corona and other popular brands -- this summer for $20.1 billion.
As of last year, Bud Light remained the number one beer in the Latino market, followed by Corona, according to NPR.
The bump in Latino spending isn’t limited to beer, The Financial Times reports. Hispanics spend more at the grocery store than other ethnic groups, and food companies like Kraft, General Mills and PepsiCo are taking notice. READ MORE
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