Gracefoods

There was a time when Caribbean Americans had to wait for family and friends traveling to bring their favourite foods directly from the islands. That is beginning to change, however, according to a recent article on South Florida supermarkets in the Sun Sentinel.

The article, which prominently features images of the line of porridges from Grace Foods, notes that major American supermarkets are beginning to stock more foods for immigrant populations. The Sentinel says that supermarkets like Publix and Winn-Dixie are stocking their ethnic food aisles with items that meet the needs of Caribbean consumers, and Hispanics from South and Central America.

The supermarkets now recognize that their customers are hungry for food products from their home countries, says the Sentinel article. So they are making greater efforts to stock foods from countries like Jamaica, whose Diaspora population is fiercely loyal to home food brands. Items like Jamaican ginger beer and crackers are now common in many large North American cities and in some cities in the UK.

The Sentinel focused on South Florida because of its wide mix of immigrant communities. Among these, Caribbeans are plentiful and their cultures, including food, are deeply rooted in their new homeland. Research by Grace Foods show that South Florida consumers are some of our biggest customers in North America.

They are also prominent in the visitor statistics for our website. Broward County is consistently in the top five regions for most site visits, with traffic coming mostly from Pembroke Pines, Miami and Hialeah.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/community/news/pembroke_pines/sfl-flbethnicfoods0214sbfeb14,0,2912565.story