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The Next Big Thing

Hollywood has its eye firmly on the bottom line—an industry that invests millions of dollars in each new product launch has to know its market and appeal to those who will be providing business and income in the future. These days, savvy entertainment types are looking at the Hispanic market to keep theater seats filled and DVDs rolling off the shelves, as can be seen in projects such as independent films "Y Tu Mamá También," "Maria Full of Grace," "Real Women Have Curves," and crossing into the mainstream with a major storyline in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." As actor John Leguizamo said in a recent National Public Radio interview, "The reason that Latin cinema is flourishing is because of the populations in America."

Take a cue from the studios and be ready for a two-fold impact on your dispensary in coming years. First, expect your Hispanic clientele to become a larger portion of your business. The U.S. Census bureau projects the U.S. Hispanic population in 2010 to exceed 47.7 million, or 15.5 percent of the U.S. population, and a whopping 102.6 million, or one-quarter of the population, by 2050.

Second, and maybe even more significant, is what Hollywood has caught on to already: "Browning." This is a trend spotted by essayist Richard Rodriguez in Advertising Age which describes the cultural influence of Hispanics on the U.S. "from pop culture to education to religion." This diverse group with representatives from Mexico, South America, the Caribbean, and Latin America, will bring to their new country wave after wave of new trends, styles, and ideas that will be adopted— and purchased—by the rest of the population.