Coca-Cola and other companies losing sales as Hispanic residents stay home and skip shopping over arrest fears
The soft drink giant expressed concern after its sales volume in North America fell 3 percent in the first quarter of 2025.
While there is no data that unequivocally links Hispanics' immigration fears to pulling back from spending, executives at big brands acknowledged those concerns are likely having some impact on sales, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The company emphasized the importance of the 64 million U.S. Hispanic consumers who hold $2.1 trillion in spending power.
'In addition to challenges with severe weather and calendar shift, volume was impacted by weakening consumer sentiment as the quarter progressed, particularly among Hispanic consumers,' Coca-Cola's CEO James Quincey said during an earnings call on April 30.
'Some of the geopolitical tension and Hispanic pullback also affected the Mexican [market], particularly the border region, which is very connected to the U.S.,' Quincey added on the call.
The sentiment was backed by Jim Sabia, the president of Constellation Brands, which owns Modelo and Corona. Sales of Modelo, which overtook Bud Light as America's best-selling beer in 2023, have also dipped slightly lately.
'There is a fear of the ICE raids,' Sabia said at the Goldman Sachs Global Staples Forum last month. 'There's a fear out there, so these consumers are changing their behaviour,' Sabia said of Hispanic consumers. 'That's in the off-premise trade. In the on-premise trade, they're cutting back on social events. They're cutting back on restaurants.'
President Donald Trump's trade tariffs are also likely impacting Hispanic consumers' shopping habits.
In one of the company's monthly surveys earlier this year, Hispanic consumers said they were worried about the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and inflation from the tariff war. The survey found 75 percent of Hispanic consumers were scaling back on eating out and going to social gatherings where beer was served, The Journal noted.
Likewise, the retailer JD Sports said it was noticing a 'huge decline in traffic' in its Shoe Palace stores, which have a large Latino customer base. CEO Regis Schultz said he could 'definitely' see the impact of the immigration policy on footfall.
Coca-Cola's CEO said the company was also suffering following false rumors the company laid off Latino staff and reported them to ICE agents. The fake claims prompted Hispanic customers to boycott the drinks.
'It wasn't the first piece of misinformation, disinformation, or anything else nefarious about the Coca-Cola brand, and I'm sure it won't be the last,' Quincey said. 'But we are very focused on recovering from it.'
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