November/December 2003
Hand-delivered

Personal invitations bring Hispanic food and beverage buyers to New York debut

By Cathy Chatfield-Taylor

When a Goya Foods truck stopped at the neighborhood bodega, the driver delivered the usual shipment of black beans, yellow rice and salsa, along with an invitation to Expo Comida Latina, the new Hispanic food and beverage show held Oct. 21–22, 2003, at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York.

Repeat 12,000 times.

That’s how Diversified Business Communications partnered with Goya — the largest Hispanic family-owned business in the United States and a marquee exhibitor — to reach Hispanic grocery store owners, a key target audience for the New York show.

“We asked the exhibitors what the make-up of the market was, and how they reached them,” says Show Director H. Stephen Phillips. “We found that there is a lot of direct store delivery (DSD), where a truck from the company delivers to the local supermarket. So we used truck drivers to invite people to the show.”

The U.S. Hispanic population of 35 million became a prime target market when the 2000 Census reported it as the largest and fastest- growing demographic in the United States. In 2000, U.S. Hispanics spent $54 billion on food and beverages alone. They grocery shop twice as often and spend 34 percent more than the average shopper.

Diversified launched Expo Comida Latina in Los Angeles last November through a partnership with International Trade Information (ITI), Woodland Hills, CA. Encouraged by the show’s success in the No. 1 Hispanic market — with 5,000 attendees and 300 exhibitors in 32,000 net square feet — the Portland, ME, company bought out ITI’s share in the event and announced the New York debut in February.

Hispanics make up 27 percent of New York City’s population, making it the second largest U.S. market for Hispanic foods and beverages. To reach retail, commercial and institutional foodservice buyers, Diversified planned an integrated campaign with the message, “It’s About Hispanic Foods and Beverages. It’s About Time.”

Reaching the national supermarket and restaurant chains was no problem. Diversified knows many buyers on a first-name basis through the company’s four international shows, including the West Coast Seafood Show, which co-located with Expo Comida Latina in Los Angeles last year. It was the small- to mid-size markets that proved challenging.

Exhibitors’ support was crucial. In addition to the DSD truck driver campaign, Diversified supplemented mailings to house and rental lists with mailings to lists from nine bellwether exhibitors. Exhibitors also gave out VIP passes, and advisory board members extended personal invitations to regional supermarkets and restaurants.

Market research also identified a New York bodega association with 13,000 members. The presidents of the association and Goya Foods co-signed a letter inviting members to attend. For the Los Angeles event, Nov. 16–18 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, a Korean Grocers Association extended an invitation to members who owned stores in Hispanic neighborhoods.

Diversified also launched an opt-in e-mail newsletter, “Comida Latina NewsBytes,” to distribute monthly conference updates along with news about the Hispanic food-and-beverage industry. On average, 1.5 percent of recipients responded by preregistering online at www.expo-comida-latina.com.

Although less effective in terms of direct response, print advertising in 12 publications for the food industry and Hispanic business reminded attendees to preregister. Editorial coverage in local and regional press also got the word out. Diversified hired an Hispanic public relations agency to promote success stories from the Los Angeles 2002 show.

Expo Comida Latina attracted 2,590 buyers, most as a result of mailings to exhibitor lists and direct delivery by Goya truck drivers.

“When exhibitors gave us their lists and we mailed out brochures, we’d see a spike in preregistration,” Phillips says. “In the two weeks that Goya handed out invitations, we saw another spike. That partnering lends you a lot of credibility for a launch.”