Res: It’s What’s for Dinner
29
June
It appears that the Beef industry has joined the myriad sectors that are upping outreach to the Latino market. Beef (known as carne de res in Spanish) seems to have found its perfect consumer in the Latino community, a group who holds the meat of cow in high regard and has no prejudices against it with regard to its effects on health:
Beef consumption may be dropping among some segments of the population, but it has not fallen out of favor in the Latino community.
Beef producers are trying to keep it that way - even as that ethnic group assimilates into an American culture increasingly hungry for leaner meats and healthier diets.
“In the general community, people say, `I love beef, but I already eat too much,”‘ said Holly Foster, a spokeswoman for the California Beef Council.
“In the Hispanic community, there are none of the negative perceptions that have historically kind of plagued our product,” she said.
With so many staples of Mexican (and other Latin American) cuisine centered around beef, one might think that a push towards Latinos is unnecessary. Not so, says the Beef Industry, who is pouring massive amounts of money into courting the Latino consumer. Reason: Latinos are increasingly more health-conscious and there is a potential to steer away from beef.
How are is Big Beef reaching out to Latinos? In ways I certainly would not have expected nor prescribed:
The California Beef Council has earmarked $500,000 in 2006 - more than a third of its advertising budget - to market beef to Latinos in Southern California.
Much of the money is being used to stage parking lot parties featuring disc jockeys and beef giveaways.
After buying her roast, Rodriguez wheeled her grocery cart past a tent outside the Gigante market. Employees from a Latino music station blasted music and hyped carne de res - beef.
Similar promotions throughout the summer will offer beef recipe books and raffle tickets for a $500 barbecue grill.
Why not partner with taquerias and other restaurants to get them to push their beef dishes even more? Why not sponsor events that naturally lend themselves to a huge barbecue where beef will take center stage? (Ironically, the heavily Latino-attended Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo comes to mind). How about some on-site cooking classes in Spanish at supermarkets for home cooks who feel they’ve worn out their beef repertoire?
Something more natural would do the trick. I certainly wouldn’t attend a “beef party” in a parking lot.