As we celebrate #hispanicheritagemonth it’s important to acknowledge the positive financial impact Hispanic-owned businesses have in this country, especially in the food industry.
The hispanic population makes up about 62.6 million in the United States as of 2021 (source). From New York to California, the hispanic influence can be seen in the culture, foods, music and entrepreneurial spirit.
In the U.S alone, there are nearly 5 million Hispanic-owned businesses that contribute more than $800 billion to the American economy annually (source).
That’s a lot of economic and purchasing power hispanics bring to the table.
Hispanics are taking advantage of the many opportunities available within different areas of the food industry, including starting up restaurants, small mom-and-pop bodegas or mercados, franchises and food processing, transportation, wholesale and distribution businesses.
According to a recent study by Stanford University, over the past 10 years the number of Latino business owners grew 34%, compared to 1% for all business owners in the U.S. Many within the food industry are making great strides.
There has been a steady increase in Hispanic or Latino wholesalers since 2010 (source).
In the restaurant business, a large percentage of Latino’s have become the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs in the U.S, according to a recent study by Stanford University. Entrepreneurs who also give back to the community by providing employment.
Hispanics are increasing employment opportunities for others looking to fulfill their American dream. The number of Hispanic-owned businesses that employ at least one employee, other than the owner, increased by 14% between 2012 and 2017—over twice as fast as the national average.” (source).
According to an article by Saber es Poder, Latino businesses have created more than 3 million jobs, or 5.5% of all the jobs in the US. These opportunities help strengthen our communities and economy.
There is no doubt, Hispanics mean business and are ready to do what it takes to succeed in this country, which is evident in the statistics.
Just like our very own Orders in Seconds (OIS) founder Oscar Guerrero, Salvadorian born and raised, who moved to the United States as a young boy with his family looking for the American dream.
How Orders in Seconds Found Success in the CPG & Food Industry
In 2005, Oscar founded OIS in New York and became a pioneer in the mobile-cloud software industry, helping wholesale distributors and manufacturers in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry and the food industry automate their existing order-taking and fulfillment processes.
Back in time, field sales reps used pay-phones to call their main office or sent faxes to place the customer’s sales orders. This created a slow order fulfillment process, big room for sales order errors, and unhappy customers getting the wrong orders.
Then, the OIS Mobile Solution was born to help automate and speed up the order-taking process and to reduce the order errors created manually. It became a more advanced solution than the old pay-phone and fax technology.
The OIS Team has worked very hard for many years to make the OIS Solution a reality.
Our biggest reward; we have developed a proven system that has helped many of our clients’ growth and scaling of their business.
For Oscar and his team, it has been an honor to serve many hispanic-owned wholesale and distribution companies. Their success has been our success.
OIS has always been focused on building long lasting relationships and trust with our clients. A proof of a successful loyal customer story; we are very proud and happy to say that our first client to use the OIS Solution is still our client today and using the OIS Solution successfully!
Final Thoughts
It’s important to remember the impact Hispanics have in this country, not only for a month but daily. I hope you enjoyed learning more about OIS and our origins. Happy Hispanic Heritage Month Everyone!
