Trying to cash in on companies that can exploit rapid growth in the developing world is hot among investors right now. Kraft‘s (NYSE: KFT ) attempt to take over South America with Tang is just one of the more recent stories. But as the food giant fine-tunes its presence in Latin America, it is also refocusing its efforts at appealing to Latinos living in North America. As markets boom in the developing world, they’re changing in the developed world, too.
Kraft was not king
Last year, a report by the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies found that Kraft spent just 3.8% of its U.S. advertising budget on Hispanic media. That trailed efforts by General Mills (NYSE: GIS ) at 9% and Nestle (OTC BB: NSRGY.PK) at 7.4%, although Kraft is in better shape than laggards Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL ) and McCormick (NYSE: MKC ) , which dedicated less than 1% in 2010. For a company that has just built Tang into a billion-dollar brand on the strength of its growth in Latin America and the Philippines, this type of result was a bit embarrassing.
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