Latinos Are Driving U.S. Growth. Is Your Brand Keeping Up?

There’s a clear and quantifiable financial story unfolding in the U.S. that too many C-suites are ignoring. Latinos aren’t just shaping culture, we are driving this country’s economic growth.

We make up one in five Americans, hold $4 trillion in purchasing power, and our spending is growing twice as fast as everyone else’s. In the past year alone, we drove nearly 70 percent of auto industry growth, half of food and beverage, and over a third of leisure and travel.

So when I see brands quietly axing their DEI and multicultural marketing teams, I see a blind spot that’s about to cost them big.

Here’s what’s so beautiful about the Latino community and what brands keep forgetting. We’re not a monolith. We’re this vibrant, complex mix of languages, histories, and ambitions that is constantly reshaping this country. My own family is part of that story: my parents immigrated from Nicaragua to New York City with an unshakable belief in the American dream. I grew up in a bilingual household where Caso Cerrado and Sábado Gigante played in the background while I did homework in English. That kind of story where we move between cultures every single day is the norm for millions of Latino families.

The companies that get it – our culture and our consumer power – are the ones winning.

You don’t have to look far to see Latino influence at work:

These wins didn’t happen by accident. They happened because those brands chose to invest in the people and teams who understand our culture from the inside. 

If your company wants to keep up, here’s what I’ve learned.

  1. Playing it safe is the fastest way to disappear. I’ve worked on presidential campaigns and I know what real risk looks like. It’s betting on your message before anyone else believes in it. Brands used to have that same courage, but the moment DEI became politically inconvenient, too many executives got spooked. They retreated instead of leading. Look at the ones who didn’t: when T-Mobile made its push into the Latino market, it didn’t just translate ads. It made bilingual service a standard, made Latino engagement a priority, and has become one of the most trusted networks for our community. Every time a company plays it safe, a braver competitor wins.
  2. Culture is not a risk. It’s the reward. Too many brands treat multicultural strategy like a side hustle or something you reactivate only during heritage months. Meanwhile, the companies that bet on culture year-round are profiting big. When Modelo embraced its Latino roots, it turned our cultural pride into its brand. That authenticity dethroned Budweiser. That’s what happens when you see culture not as a risk, but as a revenue driver. 
  3. Don’t just hire Latino marketers, promote Latino decision-makers. We don’t need more campaigns about our community; we need companies run by people from it. The difference between marketing to Latinos and leading with us is the difference between performative and profitable.

The Takeaway:

This isn’t about checking a diversity box. It’s about tapping into the trillion-dollar power of Latinos. The question for brands is simple: are you building with Latinos or falling behind?

 

Elsa Alvarado | AVP, Communications

Elsa Alvarado is a strategist and communications expert, with proven public affairs and crisis management experience from working with Fortune 5– companies and through her time at the US Departments of Defense and State. At Precision, Elsa leverages her crisis communications expertise and public affairs experience to help her clients navigate both national and international media and policy landscapes. Her speciality lies in crafting strategic messaging, devising and executing media plans, reaching and persuading diverse audiences, and preparing clients for public appearances. Currently, she leads a diverse range of projects, including planning America’s 250th anniversary celebration with America250, advising a leading tech giant on their efforts to combat online toxicity with AI, managing a CEO announcement for a major healthcare firm, and collaborating with an advocacy group fighting for fair artist compensation. Previously, Elsa served as the director of public affairs at Bryson Gillette, a strategic communications firm. Before Bryson Gillette, Elsa held a key role at the Pentagon within the Biden-Harris Administration, serving as the director of strategic communications for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs. During her tenure, Elsa successfully advanced the office’s top priorities amidst a series of global crises, including the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

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