Super Bowl Sales Opportunities
Expect multicultural influences and big appetites.
Jan 30, 2020
NEW YORK—Multicultural influences ranging from Mexican beer, wine and mezcal to snacks like jalapeño poppers and queso will be on the party table during the upcoming Super Bowl, according to a newly released Nielsen report.
Although potato skins, pizza, cheese sticks and American lager have long been associated with the championship game, the growing Latinx (Nielsen uses the term Latinx as a gender-neutral alternative to “Latino”) influence across the U.S. is inspiring many American football fans to trade traditional fare for imported beer and jalapeño poppers.
The Latinx community is nearly one-fifth of the U.S. population, and the U.S. Census projects that percentage to double to 109 million during the next 40 years. The Latinx community is playing an increasing role in defining what it means to be American, including what Americans eat and drink during major events like the Super Bowl.
Notably, Latinx consumers in Florida, which is where this year’s Super Bowl will be held, wield $165 billion in annual spending power. That represents 18% of the U.S. Latinx community’s total spending power. And Latinx enjoy watching the game, with about 11 million, or more than 50% of Hispanic households, tuning in each year.
Sales of domestic premium beer in the two weeks leading up to and including last year’s Super Bowl were down almost 5% from the same timeframe the year prior. By comparison, sales of import beer were up almost 4%, and Mexican beers account for 73% of imported beer sales in the U.S.
But contrary to football, fans often reach for different beverages during the on-field action. Sales of seltzers (+247%) continue to significantly outperform those of other alcoholic beverages, while wine sales for the Super Bowl are also up. Notably, Mexican wine sales are up 161.5% this year, while sales of Chilean and Argentinian wine are down (-1.5% and -6.3%, respectively).
But the growing influence of the Latinx community extends well beyond Mexican beers and wine. Sales of both tequila and mezcal (primarily sourced in Mexico) are up in double digits on a year-over-year basis (+14.3% and +38.1%, respectively), indicating that American consumers gravitate toward multicultural offerings at times other than football season.
Merchandising
