At nearly 33 million, U.S. Hispanics of legal drinking age (LDA) are important adult beverage consumers, and their influence will expand rapidly, according to Chicago-based Technomic Inc.’s “Special Trends in Adult Beverage (TAB) Report: Hispanic Consumer Insights.” By 2015, Hispanics will account for 15 percent of the total U.S. LDA population; by 2045, one-quarter of the U.S. LDA population will be Hispanic, it reports.

"Hispanics are an extremely important demographic group for the adult beverage industry, and many of their preferences and purchase habits are different from the general population," said Donna Hood Crecca, senior director at Technomic, in a statement. "Currently, the LDA Hispanic population skews young and male, and strongly favors beer, tequila and red wine. Similar to the general population, they value variety and competitive pricing when purchasing adult beverages, but they buy them in a broader range of retail outlets. They enjoy adult beverages frequently but consume more drinks and spend more per occasion than the general population, whether at a restaurant or bar or at home."

When it comes to selecting an alcohol beverage, beer — particularly imported beer — is the top choice for Hispanic consumers, Technomic reports. Eighty-five percent of Hispanics prefer Mexican beer compared with 70 percent of general consumers when ordering drinks in restaurants and bars. Hispanics also overindex on red wine varieties — particularly red blends — in restaurants and bars compared with the general population. Forty-one percent of Hispanic consumers reported drinking a red wine blend once a month or more compared with 28 percent of the general population.

Forty-eight percent of Latinos buy alcohol at liquor and wine stores most frequently, according to Technomic’s TAB report. However, they are 5 percentage points more likely than the overall population to purchase alcohol at other types of retail outlets such as convenience stores. In addition, Hispanics are 6 percentage points more likely than the broader population to have purchased adult beverages online in the last year, Technomic reports.

In casual-dining trends, 36 percent of English-dominant Hispanics and 38 percent of bilingual Hispanic consumers are more likely to order alcohol beverages during their visits compared with 27 percent of Spanish-dominant consumers, Technomic reports. These demographics also are more likely to try new adult beverages in on-premise locations.

To view Technomic’s infographic about Hispanic alcohol consumption, click here.

To read more about adult beverage consumer trends among Hispanics, visit Technomic’s website.