Leylha Ahuile, senior analyst of multicultural reports at Mintel, presented the findings during a free webinar yesterday entitled “Marketing to Today’s Latina.”
“Not all Latina beauty consumers are alike,” said Ahuile. “It can be a very daunting task for companies to hone in on the specific needs of their Hispanic customers,” she said.
Unilever sucessfully navigated Latina market
Ahuile highlighted Unilever as a company that has successfully engaged with the Latina market to promote its Caress Exotic Oil Infusions body washes. Unilever partnered with Univision television (the largest Spanish language network in the US) to create an interactive online telenovela that invited viewers to vote on different endings.
"It worked, people were hooked," said Ahuile "It appealed to women by linking the 'passionate' and 'sexy' elements of a telenovela to a bodywash. It resonated with consumers, and was a very sucessful campaign in the sense that it understood its audience, created something unique and seemed to hit the mark," she told CosmeticsDesign.com.
According to Mintel, Latinas are very prolific in their use of social networking, spending on average 1 hour and 11 minutes each week on such sites, as well as blogging and posting comments, reflecting their desire to communicate.
While the internet could be a good way of reaching this demographic and encouraging interaction, Ahuile cautioned that this may not work in the brand’s favor if a product was not liked, as Latinas would be inclined to also communicate this information.
Diverse Latina skin and hair needs
The webinar also stressed the importance of catering specifically to Latina consumers, of which there are 23.6 million Latinas in the US, a figure which is predicted to rise to 27.5 million by 2014.
According to the results of the survey, which was carried out online in both English and Spanish across a representative sample of the Latina demographic, 52 percent of respondents said they would like to see more personal care products designed just for them.
The demand for personalized hair care products was even stronger, with 64 percent of respondents saying they would like so see such products created specifically for them, which could represent an opportunity for manufacturers. Furthermore, Ahuile noted that Latinas consume more hair care products (with the exception of hairspray) than non-Latinas.
Latinas want bilingual packaging
Demand for bilingual packaging amongst Latinas is more pronounced in the cosmetics and personal care segment than any other category, stated Ahuile.
“Hispanic consumers often look at bilingual packaging as a way of being acknowledged and respected by a brand, not because they are unable to read English,” she said. “The lack of Spanish-language packaging has the potential to make these women feel ignored by manufacturers.”