Article: Hispanic heat wave: consumers and customers warm up to spicy offerings from these Mexican food processors.(COVER FEATURE)

Consumers are feeling the heat of Latin flavors and asking for more.

This year, Hispanic food and beverage sales are expected to reach $8.4 billion (from $5.7 billion in 2006), reports Packaged Facts, a New York-based market research group.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Part of the reason? The Latin population in the U.S. is predicted to swell by almost 70 percent through 2050, according to The Nielsen Co. Further, American Latinos will be 25 percent of the overall U.S. population by 2050 predicts the New York-based marketing information provider.

Also feeding Hispanic cuisine's rise are non-Hispanic consumers who exhibit an increasing ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!