Cross-posted at VivirLatino.com

The Coca Cola company, one of the first corporations to dabble in U.S. Latino marketing (and international marketing emperors) is taking the idea of targeting Latin American immigrants outside of their home country to the Spanish market.

Coca-Cola, recognizing the tremendous growth of the Latino immigrant population in Spain — specifically Ecuadorians — has decided to tap into a market that is being ignored by rival beverage companies. They are looking to appeal to the tastes of the Ecuadorian community, who, nostalgic for anything reminding them of home, might embrace a soft drink that does just that. In addition, Coke is doing the same with for the Moroccan community.

The company has decided to bring two of their more popular soft drinks in both countries: Fioravanti, a strawberry drink which is consumed so much in Ecuador that it is only topped by Coca Cola, and Hawai, a fruit juice drink popular in Morocco.

According to Spanish daily 20 Minutos, Ecuadorian immigrants in Spain see this push on Coke’s part as a way to help integrate themselves into Spanish society, and at the same time share some of their culture with the Spanish:

Rita Gotayde, president of the Association of Ecuadorians and Friends of Foreigners (Adeyade), calls the initiatve to bring Fioravanti to Spain “very good”, because she considers it to be way to integrate Ecuadorians and “not only for Equadorians who miss their drink, their food…also for Spaniards who are going to get to know something from our country that is very good.”

Moroccan community leaders are also enthusiastic about their drink hitting the Spanish market, because:

“…it helps integration because it takes into account the Moroccan community’s tastes.”

“It’s not concretely about the drink, even though it’s important, but it helps. We would like that other companies and non-companies to take us into consideration as well.”

Social integration through soft drinks? What do you think?

Via / 20 Minutos

The Pew Hispanic Center released a report today on the state of Latino immigration. Its findings may surprise some:

By 2004, the annual inflow of foreign-born persons was down 24% from its all-time high in 2000, according to the Pew Hispanic Center analysis of multiple datasets collected by the Census Bureau and other government agencies

According to this brief, by 2004 immigration was climbing again:

Whether or not this move portends further increases is impossible to predict. But even with this recent increase in migration, the most recent data show that immigration flows are at levels comparable with those of the mid-1990s and still significantly below the peak levels of 1999–2000.

I am unclear as to if the data in this report considers all immigrant groups or just Latinos.

You can read the whole report at the Pew Website. Also, for a reflection on the interpretation of this data by various mainstream news sources, see this post at HispanicTips.

Tags: immigration,Mexico,Hispanics