Growing the Hispanic Market and Beyond: Opening and Speeding Up Pathways for Success
By Jennifer Esperanza, Senior Director of Organizational Culture and Strategy​
June 30, 2023
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Most people had never heard the name Richard Montañez. Born to migrant farmworkers from Mexico, Montañez worked as a janitor at the Frito-Lay snack company in southern California. A motivated worker and an astute observer by nature, he rose up to various ranks in the company including machinist operator to ultimately, Executive of Multicultural Marketing. He has been credited with introducing the world to the popular (and spicier) version of Cheetos, aptly named “Flaming Hot,” which mixes spicy, salty and citrusy flavors often found in Mexican cuisine.
Montañez’s story was recently made into the film “Flamin’ Hot,” which can be viewed on select streaming services. Although this 90-minute rags-to-riches movie may have been distilled in a way that distorts the complicated realities of a person’s entrepreneurial success, “Flamin’ Hot” still captures an essential point that the business world needs to know: that catering to the proclivities and tastes of Latinos is a path to innovation and overall growth for the consumer base in a variety of industries.
According to a 2021 report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “people of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, who may be of any race, made up 18 percent of the total labor force.” Yet a majority of these workers are not likely to be in positions of influence or have easy access to share potentially lucrative ideas or innovative approaches to work. Richard Montañez was precisely that type of employee—someone with the motivation to help his company succeed but was not in a role that would take and implement his ideas seriously.
Lucy Pérez, a partner at the consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, conducted research on the Latino market. In an NPR interview, she shared that 28% of Latinos interviewed were unsatisfied with the product offerings that are available to them in the U.S. These products range from food to beauty products and include financial services. Pérez says, “One of the big findings for us was that, if companies could address this dissatisfaction, we're talking about an extra $109 billion that Latinos would be willing to spend.”
Like any organization, there are specific pathways for innovative ideas to be launched and avenues for staff to share productive insights. While this ensures minimal disruptions and respect for the systems put into place, such pathways (if too rigid) can come at the expense of the organizations to hear from staff, including Hispanics.
The key is not necessarily to upend an entire system of protocols, but rather to foster a culture in which staff have enough psychological safety to share ideas and make observations that leaders may not necessarily be aware. But there are ways to begin building that culture. Coopera Consulting offers focus groups for credit union employees at all levels to safely share their insights and ideas. As a neutral third-party, Coopera is able to listen with empathy, produce reports that identify common trends expressed by focus group participants, and highlight ideas that could improve the organization. Who knows? The next Richard Montañez could be sitting inside your credit union at this moment.
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