During 2011, Mexico bucked the downward trend seen by many other economies and achieved 4% growth¹. For the food industry, this means that we’ve seen innovation and variety once again top of the menu. Our favorite recent launches have included walnut, caramel and cranberry ice cream and chili-coated dried cranberries, inspired by the locally-beloved chili-coated dried mango.

A strong influence on the Mexican food industry is health.  With the highest incidence of Type 2 diabetes in the world², the snacking industry is pushing to make healthy eating more enjoyable. In a bid to fight obesity and other health-related issues, the Mexican government recently passed a law banning junk food in schools³. Food ingredients now need to be approved before they can be sold in schools.

The concept of trail mix is fairly new in Mexico, but its popularity has grown quickly both on shelf and inside the school gates. Monopacks of dried fruit are also popular, as we’ve seen with sales of sweetened dried cranberries rising rapidly in the past twelve months. Dried cranberry is frequently featured in salad toppings and fruit-based desserts.

The Cranberry Marketing Committee interviewed women in Mexico to find out more about their opinions on cranberry. More than half of cranberry purchasers (53%) stated that they bought cranberry products for their healthful properties⁴. Sales figures in the cereal and snack bar category reflect this demand; the most popular on-pack claim in 2011 was low/no/reduced calorie (20%). Low/no/reduced transfat was not far behind at 13% and vitamin-fortified was found on 11% of packs.

Taken together, this shows that many Mexican consumers are health-savvy and looking for new, interesting ways to enjoy a varied diet. Ocean Spray will be at Fi South America this year to meet with manufacturers and discuss this growing market as well as the success of the cranberry in other parts of the world.

[1] Industria Alimenticia Mexico con la formula perfecta September 2011

[2] Mintel GNPD

[3] The Guardian Mexico bans junk food in schools May 2010

[4] Grupo PM Cranberries awareness and purchase intention among upper class women in Mexico City 2009