Last year, for eight weeks during the back-to-school selling season, Hispanic shoppers in three key markets got a lesson in vitamin awareness.

When they arrived at participating Kroger and Fiesta stores in Houston, Albertsons and Fiesta stores in Dallas, and Food4Less and Ralph's locations in Los Angeles, they saw a 10-foot by 10-foot Flintstones-branded tent with a sampling station, signage and musical entertainment near the front door. There, bilingual "brand ambassadors" offered samples of Flintstones Gummies and Chewables Vitamins to customers and their children.

Inside, ambassadors stationed in the vitamin aisle explained how Flintstones Vitamins can help children's health and gave away shopping list notepads complete with a product coupon and pages that highlighted the brand's benefits. Colorful, bilingual point-of-sale materials, which included a shelf talker with tear-off coupons and signage, continued the momentum in-store. Broadcast support came via five radio remotes per market area.

Brand ambassadors offer free samples to shoppers outside supermarkets in Houston, Dallas and Los Angeles.

Dubbed "¡Cuenta con Nosotros!," the multi-faceted outdoor "retailtainment" program was created to integrate Flintstones Vitamins into the daily mindset of Hispanic moms who do not typically think of vitamins when shopping for their families, research shows.

Designed to drive purchases through brand education, the program — which emphasized the daily need for children to receive complete nutrition for healthy bodies and minds — met that mark: It exceeded its goals by 150 percent in each market, according to Becky Arreaga, president/partner of Austin, Texas-based Mercury Mambo, a Hispanic-focused marketing firm that helped plan the event.

"We had set a sales goal of 10 bottles of Flintstones Vitamins per event," Arreaga said. "The 150 percent is the average per market of total sales exceeding [the] goal."

That event is just one example of ways retailers and vendors are partnering to attract the growing Hispanic demographic group.

"Retailers are asking for more programs targeted to the Hispanic shopper because these are the people who are walking through their doors. They want their stores to be culturally relevant to the shopper," Arreaga said. "On the other hand, companies are seeing the increase of the Hispanic population and are beginning to understand the significance in developing separate marketing efforts."

Demographic Data
One look at recently released Census data underscores the importance of Hispanic-focused retail initiatives. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 Census brief, released in late May, the Hispanic population increased by 15.2 million between 2000 and 2010 and accounted for more than half of the total U.S. population increase of 27.3 million. Between 2000 and 2010, the Hispanic population grew by 43 percent, or four times the nation's 9.7-percent growth rate.

It is more than those numbers that should make retailers take note; the widespread nature of the boom is important, too. Census figures show the Hispanic population grew in every region of the United States between 2000 and 2010.

That means retailers must know their customer base, then tap into the myriad initiatives their suppliers can offer to craft enticing, relevant programs that will create a competitive edge.

"Retailers know their shoppers — they know what they like, what time and what day they shop most often and the amount of time they spend in the store," Arreaga said. "Vendors that tap into this knowledge not only benefit from building better programs, they also benefit greatly from building stronger relationships with these important retailers."

Retailers benefit, too. Suppliers, Arreaga noted, are in a unique position to help stores attract customers by investing in media buys, value-added promotions and parking lot events.

"If done strategically, these activities will not only enhance the shopping experience, but also reinforce the brand experience in the store and in turn, build store and brand loyalty," she said. "The end result is a win-win-win for the retailer, the brand and the consumer."

Broadening the Appeal
While attracting Hispanic customers is the key to retail success, initiatives that tout ethnic products also can help boost a store's non-Hispanic customer base.

Non-Hispanics, after all, are becoming increasingly familiar with Mexican and other Latin foods and are starting to shop for chiles, jicama, nopales, papaya and other specialty products, said Hazel Kelly, communications manager at Frieda's Inc., a specialty produce company based in Los Alamitos, Calif.

"Marketing Hispanic items to non-Hispanic customers and educating them about these specialty products is a huge opportunity for retailers," Kelly said.

Initiatives such as Frieda's Produce University can help retailers broaden their appeal across demographic groups. Each session begins with a pre-event training seminar for produce managers and their teams. Frieda's marketing experts provide in-depth product fact sheets on each item, point-of-sale signage and informational brochures. Produce teams then conduct in-store sampling sessions for customers, who receive educational information about Latin produce.

Produce University is just one way Frieda's helps retailers interested in expanding their Hispanic product lines. By acting as a category manager for its clients, the company "can help customers determine the right product mix for their Latin sets based on a targeted demographic analysis," Kelly said. "We also provide supporting materials, including product fact sheets, merchandising tips and point-of-sale signage with high-resolution photography."

This type of approach appeals to more acculturated Hispanics, which comprise a growing part of the Hispanic market, according to Kelly.

"More and more retailers are finding that the second- and third-generation Hispanic shopper has preferences much like their Caucasian counterparts, so we find that having a more integrated approach to merchandising can yield better results," she explained.

Collaboration Pays
Retailers and vendors alike are discovering the benefits of collaborating on Hispanic-focused initiatives, industry data shows.

Mercury Mambo's recent Hispanic Retailer & Shopper Study revealed that "retailtainment" events and sampling programs create store-level excitement, generate immediate purchases and can have a long-term impact on sales.

"Over half — 52 percent — of consumers that participated in these types of store activities reported purchasing a product they had not planned on purchasing, and the same amount reported purchasing the product one or more times after the promotion," Arreaga said.

Radio remotes, too, were identified as extremely effective ways to drive traffic and create excitement. However, it is important for retailers and suppliers to realize brands must augment on-air efforts with messages that drive shoppers to the in-store spot where they can buy the product, she added.

Ultimately, retailers and vendors alike can reap rewards from supplier-provided Hispanic initiatives. Retailers can access free promotional programs and marketing support from vendors; vendors can negotiate with stores to receive incremental displays and special shelf placement; and in the process, both can appeal to the Hispanic shoppers they are trying to attract.