Hispanic consumers represent a rapidly growing, youthful segment of the US population, with families playing a key role in meal planning and preparation. Most actively engage in home cooking, meal planning and grocery shopping at least weekly. An impressive 80% say home cooking helps control expenses, and the same share credit meal planning as a key money-saver. This strong focus on budget drives flexible meal planning, balancing cultural traditions, convenience and family connection. Ongoing economic pressures and inflation continue to present challenges, as rising food costs may restrict discretionary spending and increase demand for affordable options.
Hispanic consumers crave kitchen inspiration, eager to try new recipes and techniques. For them, cooking isn’t just functional – it’s creative, expressive and deeply tied to cultural identity. To succeed, brands must deliver culturally relevant, affordable solutions reflecting these values. Leveraging digital tools like AI and social media, especially AI-powered shoppable content that simplifies meal planning, offers a prime opportunity to engage younger shoppers seeking personalization, convenience and connection to heritage. Without culturally resonant products and seamless digital experiences, brands risk alienating this influential, growing consumer base.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Overview of US Hispanic population
- Influence of economic conditions on food spending and need for meal planning
- Identity of the household meal planner and cook
- Meal planning habits and frequency
- Meal planning and preparation behaviors and attitudes
- Cooking and meal preparation habits and frequency
- Hispanic consumers’ motivations to cook
- Food shopping habits and frequency
- Launch activity, marketing and advertising strategies related to meal planning and preparation
Hispanic consumers blend heritage cooking, budgeting and digital habits, making them a key market for authentic, tech-enabled meal solutions.
Fiona O’Donnell, Senior Director – Lifestyles, Culture & Identity, Multicultural, Travel & Leisure
Market Definitions
This Report examines Hispanic consumers’ behaviors and attitudes toward home meal planning and preparation.
Similar to the US Census, Mintel defines Hispanics as those who report being of Hispanic or Latino origin or descent, such as Latin American, Mexican, Puerto Rican or Cuban. According to the US Census, there were 65.2 million Hispanics in the US in 2023, representing 19.5% of the total population.
“Hispanic” entails anyone who has origins from a Spanish-speaking country, and “Latino/Latina” denotes individuals who have origins in a Latin American country, regardless of whether it is a Spanish-speaking country. Latinx and Latine are gender-neutral terms, while the former is mostly used by English speakers, the latter is the Spanish equivalent. This Report covers all consumers, and terms are used interchangeably throughout to reflect the diversity of this demographic.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Market predictions
- What consumers want & why
- Opportunities
- Help Hispanic consumers maximize savings through smart meal solutions
- Empower Hispanic shoppers with interactive meal planning tools
- Meet Hispanic consumers’ demand for healthier, high-quality and flavorful home cooking
- Inspire younger Hispanic shoppers with culturally relevant social media content
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MARKET DYNAMICS
- Hispanic consumers by the numbers
- Hispanic/Latino consumers make up one in five Americans – and an even greater share of younger generations
- Graph 1: percent of US population, by generation, 2025
- Graph 2: percent of US population, by Hispanic origin, 2020-30
- Hispanic Americans continue to grow share of US population
- While the Mexican population is the largest Hispanic group, it experienced the slowest growth from 2010-20
- Graph 3: growth of Hispanic population, by country/regional group, 2010-2020
- Graph 4: share of Hispanic population, by country/regional group, 2020
- Regional diversity within the Hispanic population
- Family households more prevalent among Hispanic consumers
- Graph 5: households with related children under the age of 18 living at home, by Hispanic origin, 2021
- Kids play a significant role in Hispanic household food decisions
- Graph 6: Hispanic parents – children’s influence on purchasing food and beverages, 2025
- Market context
- Hispanic households lag in household income
- Graph 7: median household income, by Hispanic origin and vs all, 2023
- Graph 8: median household income, by Hispanic population vs all, 2022
- Inflation affects Hispanic households differently
- Graph 9: average annual expenditures (% share) – select items, by Hispanic origin, 2022
- Tariff risk causes uncertainty
- Market drivers
- While prices remain high, value will remain important to Hispanic families
- Food insecurity a reality for many Hispanic consumers
- Shared mealtimes remain a strong anchor for Hispanic households
- Graph 10: Hispanic consumers – family mealtime, 2025
- AI adoption can optimize meal planning and preparation
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CONSUMER INSIGHTS
- Consumer fast facts
- Consumer fast facts, cont.
- Meal planning consumer segments
- Hispanic consumers take charge in meal planning
- Most households have a key decision-maker for meal planning and prep
- Graph 11: Hispanic consumers – responsibility for household grocery shopping, 2025
- Graph 12: Hispanic consumers – responsibility for household meal prepping/planning, 2025
- Family Food Architects
- Collaborative Culinary Coordinators
- Meal planning behaviors
- Meal decisions are often premeditated and rooted in routine
- Graph 13: Hispanic consumers – weekly meal planning habits, 2025
- Tools to support intentional grocery habits
- Male FFAs redefine kitchen leadership
- Graph 14: Hispanic consumers – weekly meal planning habits, by consumer segments and gender, 2025
- Gen Z embraces intentional meal planning
- Graph 15: Hispanic consumers – weekly meal planning habits, by generation, 2025
- Parents plan with purpose to feed household
- Graph 16: Hispanic consumers – weekly meal planning habits, by parental status, 2025
- Meal planning attitudes
- Hispanic consumers want to meal plan, but time investment is a barrier
- Cultural flavor meets practical planning
- Experience shapes perception of meal planning time investment
- Graph 17: Hispanic consumers – attitudes toward meal planning (any agree), by generation, 2025
- Make meal planning more feasible for time-restricted parents
- Graph 18: Hispanic consumers – attitudes toward meal planning (any agree), by parental status, 2025
- Omnichannel approach acknowledges the way Hispanic consumers plan, shop and cook
- Social media influence is more impactful among younger audiences
- Graph 19: Hispanic consumers – social media influence on meal planning/cooking, by generation, 2025
- Digital discovery and brand partnerships shape meal planning
- Meal preparation behaviors
- Frequent cooking from scratch shows Hispanic consumers’ commitment to quality
- Graph 20: Hispanic consumers – meal preparation habits – weekly and daily, 2025
- Meal kits that meet a variety of household sizes
- Gen Z’s meal prep habits embrace creativity, flexibility and convenience
- Graph 21: Hispanic consumers – weekly meal preparation habits, by generation, 2025
- Parents are more engaged with prep and personalized meal options
- Graph 22: Hispanic consumers – weekly meal preparation habits, by parental status, 2025
- Help parents balance convenience and nutrition
- Consumers with a dominant Hispanic/Latino cultural background engage in hands-on, routine meal prep
- Graph 23: Hispanic consumers – weekly meal preparation habits, by dominate culture, 2025
- Hispanic consumers strive for health and harmony at mealtime
- Graph 24: Hispanic consumers – meal prep considerations, 2025
- Hispanic grocer educates kids on healthy habits
- Cooking habits & motivations
- Cooking is a creative and cultural outlet for Hispanic consumers
- Graph 25: Hispanic consumers – cooking habits, 2025
- Inspiration that blends product, culture and lifestyle
- Parents embrace food trends
- Graph 26: Hispanic consumers – cooking habits, by parental status, 2025
- Turning family-friendly staples into flavorful remixes
- Music and ingredient experimentation are key prep drivers
- Graph 27: Hispanic consumers – cooking habits, by country of birth, 2025
- Hispanic consumers are driven to cook by a blend of emotional and practical reasons
- Graph 28: Hispanic consumers – cooking motivations, 2025
- Meal ideas that support everyday cooking with ease, balance and family appeal
- Address motivation gaps across generations
- Graph 29: Hispanic consumers – cooking motivations, by generation, 2025
- Non-parents are motivated to cook by saving money
- Graph 30: Hispanic consumers – cooking motivations, by parental status, 2025
- Foreign-born Hispanic consumers cook with tradition and wellness in mind
- Graph 31: Hispanic consumers – cooking motivations, by country of birth, 2025
- Cooking together is common, but not the norm
- Graph 32: Hispanic consumers – meal preparation participants, 2025
- Cooking attitudes
- Attitudes toward cooking balance pride with practical savings
- FFAs preserve culture through cooking
- Graph 33: Hispanic consumers – attitudes toward cooking (any agree), by consumer segment, 2025
- Lean into the belief that home cooking is healthier and tastes better than dining out to stimulate greater participation
- Graph 34: Hispanic consumers – attitudes toward food prepared at home vs restaurant food (any agree), 2025
- Real Mexican food with authentic recipes and ingredients
- Foreign-born Hispanic consumers embrace natural, less processed foods as part of their health perspective
- Graph 35: Hispanic consumers – attitudes toward food prepared at home vs restaurant food (any agree), by country of birth2025
- Shopping behaviors & attitudes
- Hispanic consumers want tradition to meet convenience where they shop
- Graph 36: Hispanic consumers – shopping habits – weekly and daily, 2025
- Younger generations show stronger weekly engagement with Hispanic grocers
- Graph 37: Hispanic consumers – weekly shopping habits, by generation, 2025
- Authentic cultural connections drive use of Hispanic grocers
- Graph 38: Hispanic consumers – weekly shopping habits, by dominate culture, 2025
- Hispanic consumers are highly responsive to in-store savings
- Graph 39: Hispanic consumers – attitudes toward shopping (any agree), 2025
- Gen Z seeks tools to help put together a meal
- Graph 40: Hispanic consumers – attitudes toward shopping, by generation, 2025
- Hispanic parents seek meal planning support while shopping
- Graph 41: Hispanic consumers – attitudes towards shopping, by parental status, 2025
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INNOVATION AND MARKETING STRATEGIES
- Launch activity and innovation
- Prepared meals dominate new launch activity, but appetizers and salads gain traction
- Graph 42: top meal and meal centers launches, by type, 2021-25
- Prepared meals help Hispanic consumers feed their household
- Small bites support communal dining and simplify prep
- Prepackaged and prepped salads cater to Hispanic consumers’ desire for healthy meals
- Marketing and advertising
- Low price business model aligns with Hispanic consumers’ budget mindset
- ALDI delivers social media content and convenient products to support meal planning
- Culturally-aligned retail formats strengthen grocery’s role in Hispanic meal planning
- Save A Lot uses social media to promote budget-friendly meal planning and recipes
- Authentic meal kits with chef-crafted convenience
- CookUnity delivers social content in both English and Spanish
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APPENDIX
- Market definition
- Consumer research questions
- Consumer research methodology
- Generations
- Abbreviations and terms
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