An April 6th article in the New York Times illuminates the growth–and growing prominence–of America’s multicultural markets (Americans that are of two or more races). While marketers have long demographically segmented according to one location, one age range and one set of race, that is quickly having to change. Because our markets are changing.
According to the article: "Of the seven million Americans–approximately 3% of the population–who identified themselves as mixed-race in the 2000 census (the first in which it was possible to do so), nearly half were under the age of 18. Almost 5 percent of Californians now identify themselves as mixed-race; by comparison, fewer than 7 percent are African-American."
As the author points out, "Because we are trying to raise our daughter as bi-cultural, much in our family is up for grabs, from the food we eat — and what we say before and after eating it."
This is an exemplary opportunity for marketers to develop offerings that speak to the various heritages that these consumers identify with, as they certainly don’t identify with just one (as previously 
assumed). There is already a solid trend afoot in fusion foods–the blending of flavors and ideas from different cultures and ethnicities to develop brand new dishes (e.g. Taco Pizza, Mango Green Tea), even new food categories (e.g. Tex-Mex, Pan-Asian).
The possibilities in serving these new markets? Between the levels of choice and authenticity that today’s consumers are demanding, the innovations are near endless. Moreover, as foods that are of rooted in the histories of one culture continue to migrate to the palates of other cultures, and into the mainstream, the profit potential provides a solid business case for more experimentation. Not less.
That said, the first step will be for marketers to better understand these marketers and how to effectively market to them. Hitting home this point, Monique Tapie, communications director for Global Advertising Strategies, explained in a July 2007 Washington Post article, "Multicultural Marketing 101 does not understand such nuances, just as it does not understand the animus of many middle-class and upper-income blacks against advertising campaigns that seem to portray all black people as hip-hop artists or sports figures. It seems to think that all Asians are from Japan, China or Korea, and all Spanish-speaking people are from Mexico, and all Mexicans are alike.
Ethnic marketing is not a matter of cynically exploiting racial, ethnic, class or other differences for profit, it’s simply a recognition that differences exist, that America is composed of many cultures and that if you plan to sell to those cultures, you’d better try to do a better job of understanding them."
Also, very much worth watching is this terrific video segment on today’s multicultural youth, and how they’re working to understand and communicate their rich and varied identities. Let’s make it our job to listen to them–and leverage these opportunities to better serve them.
After all, today’s dynamic changes in America’s demographics are unprecedented and those specialty foods companies that ignore the demands of these rich and varied audiences will do so at the price of market share for many years ahead.
