A recent survey in the U.S. has found not only are young Latinos looking for products that connect with their heritage, but they are also very open to food from other cultures.

A recent Nielsen Hispanic Grocery Survey analyzed more than 3,000 responses from Hispanic households in order to gauge preferences from the country's leading multicultural group in the Millennial generation, including people born between the early 1980s and 2000.

The study highlighted around 40% of the U.S. population identified as Hispanic, African-American or Asian American, while over a quarter of the nation's Millennials are first- or second-generation immigrants.

"This diversity is shifting their attitudes—71% of all Millennials say they appreciate the influence of other cultures on [sic] American way of life," Nielsen said.

"It’s also shaping their consumer habits—from brand loyalty and product purchasing to language and media usage.

Nielsen highlighted Hispanic people made up around half of the "multicultural Millennial" cohort, or 21% of the generation's total U.S. population.

"And some markets have an even higher concentration of young Hispanic consumers. For example, one quarter of Los Angeles’ population is Millennial, and half these young consumers are Latino," the group said.

"When it comes to grocery, Latino Millennials are true to their heritage, attracted by cultural touch stones of smell, taste and familiarity. At the national level, 61% of Hispanic Millennials say they’ve shopped at Hispanic supermarkets at least once over the past year.

"But while these young Latinos value their roots, they’re also open to other cultures—22% have shopped at an Asian supermarket."

Nielsen said language played a big role in whether young Latinos shop at culturally specific stores, and as expected the majority of panish-dominant and bilingual Hispanic Millennials across the U.S. have shopped at Hispanic groceries.

"But almost half of English-dominant Hispanic Millennials have also visited these stores. Hispanic Millennials’ desire to shop at Hispanic groceries stores—despite language barriers—also reflects this generation’s openness to different cultures.

"The Los Angeles (LA) market, in particular, illustrates the opportunity these attitudes present. In the city, the percentage of Latino Millennials shopping at Hispanic grocery chains jumps to 74%.

"And even more importantly, while 46% of LA Latino Millennials are English-dominant, almost 60% shop at Hispanic food stores. This is a testament to the sheer number of Latino stores in LA but also the draw and appeal of these stores."

However, these grocery options are not always available. At the national level, the leading reason all Hispanics and the Millennial sub-segment give for not shopping at Hispanic grocers is the lack of nearby stores.

"Meanwhile, in LA, 36% of Hispanic Millennials say their main reason for not shopping at Hispanic grocers is because they can find their ethnic products in mainstream retailers," Nielsen said.

"In LA, mainstream retailers have taken note of the needs and desires of Latino Millennials and are responding with options that appeal to these young shoppers.

"Across the country, food stores overall—not just Hispanic grocers—have the same opportunity to attract shoppers in high density Latino neighborhoods by better understanding their needs and gearing their store’s product offerings to satisfy these desires."

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