Catch the soulful flavor of pork.
Celebra tu cultura y Ponle Pork a tu vida.
Why is the Pork Checkoff focused on creating messages like this focused on the multicultural consumer more than ever right now?
“It’s simple. We must win more households, more consumers and more eating occasions,” says David Newman, senior vice president of market growth at the National Pork Board. “It’s not just about selling more pork – it’s about creating long-term demand.”
The average U.S. consumer is changing. Because of that, the Pork Checkoff’s strategies are changing, too.
“If you look at the demographics in the U.S., one-third of the population is Hispanic, African American and Asian, and it tends to skew younger. As we look at the Millennials and Gen Z in particular, they’re the most multicultural generations in U.S. history,” explains Bill Even, CEO of the National Pork Board.
It’s Time to Fish Where the Fish Are
Virtually all the recent population growth in the U.S. has come from either Hispanic consumers, African American consumers or Asian consumers, points out Jose De Jesus, senior director of multicultural marketing at the National Pork Board. According to a recent report, multicultural consumers account for 97% of all U.S. population growth over the past 20 years.
“They are a growing market, so we want to grow pork consumption and demand. We’ve got to attach ourselves to that,” de Jesus says.
Looking ahead to the next 40 years, he says that growth is not going to stop.
“Data shows that these demographics are going to continue to grow and drive population growth over the next four decades,” De Jesus says.
Top that with an unmatched affinity for pork and it’s easy to see why the Pork Checkoff is changing its marketing and efforts to better reach the multicultural consumer.
“We’re trying to fish where the fish are. It makes sense for us to cater and be proactive in reaching out to those consumers because pork is already part of the consideration for them,” De Jesus says. “Pork is relevant for them. All we have to do is continue to make sure that we are the go-to protein for these consumers as they make their meal decisions throughout the week.”
Connecting to Culture
Conversations about the nutrition, health, compatibility, flavor and cultural ties pork offers are key when communicating with today’s average consumer, Even adds. By and large, the targeted age group is between 18 to 45. This reaches the GenZennials born from 1992 to 2000, a mixture of Gen Z and Millennials, and the end of the Gen Xers.
The younger demographic wants to stay in touch with their culture and seek to connect with their parents and grandparents through cooking.
De Jesus says this impacts how they message pork today. It now includes incorporating a word that is culturally meaningful. Or it could be incorporating “Spanglish” – a little Spanish and English combined – because that is how the Hispanic audience speaks when they are talking at home.
“We always incorporate something that hits a nerve from a cultural perspective in our messaging with the multicultural consumer, because it’s important,” he says.
Ponle Pork, meaning “add pork,” is a campaign geared towards Hispanic Millennials and Gen Z, strategically positioning pork as an adaptable ingredient for diverse meals. While pork holds a central place in Hispanic cuisine, Ponle Pork showcases its versatility as the protein choice.
If the campaigns are working, De Jesus adds, most pork producers will likely never see them.
“If you start seeing ads in Spanish, we’re not doing it right,” says De Jesus. “We have a very precise approach to be able to reach consumer where they are at and in the way that they want to be reached with the messaging we know resonates.”
Increase Per Capita Consumption
The younger generations will have to carry the load of pork purchasing moving forward. This is concerning because data shows fresh pork runs the risk of becoming obsolete among younger generations, Newman explains.
“If the industry doesn’t bring younger consumers into the category at a faster rate, annual consumption will decline 2.2 lb. over the next 10 years,” Newman says.
In addition to increasing consumption among younger generations, Pork Checkoff is also considering how to make fresh pork more relevant to the multicultural consumer. Currently, processed pork is the most popular with multicultural consumers.
“We can’t take our eye off the prize of processed pork, but fresh pork is at risk,” Newman says. “The relevance of fresh pork is important as we think about how to reach generations and cultures moving forward.”
Read More:
Snout-to-Tail Strategy Sells More Pork in Chicago Grocery Chain
How a Grocery Store and a Packing Plant Opened Two Pig Farmers’ Perspectives
For the Love of Pork: Influencers Eddie Zamora and Ashley Sampson Help Cooks Avoid Dry Pork Chops
