By Alexandra Vilchez

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – The Food Lion supermarket chain will expand its Sabor Latino (Latin Flavor) format to 59 stores in North Carolina to better serve this growing market.

In December 2008, Food Lion began this pilot program in five supermarkets in the state capital of Raleigh, heavily populated with Hispanics, that yielded “positive results.”

Daniel Herrera, the chain’s Hispanic marketing manager, said the project aimed at getting Hispanics to “continue preferring Food Lion as their food store” and to offer new products to general market consumers.

“In that way we can integrate both communities,” Herrera told Efe.

The 59 stores that will have the Sabor Latino format make up 10 percent of the total of 503 that Food Lion operates in this state.

Around 1,000 new products with an ethnic attraction including canned foods, vegetables, fruit, cuts of meat, bread rolls, desserts, cake, bread pudding and more will be added to sections of supermarkets where Hispanic products are already sold.

There will also be signs in Spanish inside and outside the supermarkets to give clients directions as well as information about promotions and offers.

Employees will also receive training in aspects of Hispanic culture and classes in basic Spanish.

“We want to represent the community we serve,” Herrera said.

As part of the marketing strategy, Herrera said that during the year events will be organized in stores such as the signing of autographs by players from the Mexican national soccer team and from local tournaments.

Herrera said that Sabor Latino began in the Tar Heel state and not in other states around the country with big Hispanic populations for “strategic” reasons: Food Lion’s corporate headquarters are in Salisbury, North Carolina.

With this concept, Food Lion is sure of covering a big part of the consumer food market since Hispanics spend $30 billion a year on food.

“Many supermarket chains in the country are focusing on Spanish consumers and offering a number of products they like. The demand is growing because for Hispanics food is very important,” Kathleen Thomas, spokeswoman for the Food Marketing Institute, told Efe.

A recent FMI study showed that 39 percent of Hispanics in this country prefer to prepare meals at home, they’re interested in special supermarket offers and what they look for in food-store aisles is variety.

Another nationwide supermarket chain, Compare Foods that originated in New York, has 19 stores in North Carolina and one in South Carolina that offer a range of Hispanic products and even attract customers from other communities.

Meanwhile retail titan Wal-Mart has opened supermarkets with a Hispanic concept in Texas and Arizona.

Herrera preferred not to inform Efe whether Sabor Latino will be introduced to other markets around the country.

Food Lion has 1,300 supermarkets in 11 states in the southeastern part of the country and employs 74,000 workers. EFE