Hispanics Favor Brand Names in Personal Care

When times are tough, it is no surprise to find consumers opting for less-expensive products in order to save money. Equally unsurprising, lower-income households are more likely to trade down, but one group breaks the mold — Spanish-dominant Hispanics. Indeed, research from Mintel finds that lower-income, Spanish-dominant Hispanics are still buying name brand personal care products at a higher rate than their English-dominant counterparts.

Sixty-four percent of Hispanics surveyed who have an income of $25,000-$49,999 say they still buy name brand body soaps or shower gels. Meanwhile, 64 percent of Spanish-dominant Hispanics, compared to 58 percent of English-dominant Hispanics, say they continue to buy name brand body soaps or shower gels despite the economic downturn.

"Spanish-dominant Hispanics are most likely to stick to their favorite brand of hand soap, body soap and shower gel, signifying that less acculturated Hispanics remain loyal to the same brand despite the economy," says Leylha Ahuile, senior multicultural analyst at Mintel. "English-dominant Hispanics tend to have higher household incomes and apparently are less concerned with brand name soaps and more focused on saving money."

Spanish-dominant consumers are also more likely to stick to their favorite name brand lotions (51 percent vs. 35 percent of English-dominant consumers), facial cleansers (27 percent vs. 20 percent of English-dominant consumers) and toothpaste or mouthwash (69 percent vs. 65 percent of English-dominant consumers), refusing to trade down to more affordable private label personal care products.

"In spite of Hispanics' lower-than-average household income level, they indexed higher than non-Hispanics in the consumption of personal care products in 2009," notes Leylha Ahuile. "Over the last six years, Hispanics have consistently increased their spending on personal care products. And within personal care, Hispanics index higher than non-Hispanics in the subcategories of haircare products and bath products."

However, lower-income Hispanics are still interested in saving a few dollars with multifunctional products -- 65 percent of those who earn $25,000-$49,999 are interested in two-in-one shampoo/conditioner and 83 percent would be more inclined to purchase toothpaste that can also serve as a mouthwash and whitener.