Stove top-cooked rice and bowls of richly flavored soup are frequent choices for Hispanics when consuming afternoon meals, a habit that has been influencing overall consumption trends in the United States.

While sandwiches reign as the choice lunchtime item for Hispanics and non-Hispanics alike (18 percent of Hispanics compared to 38 percent of non-Hispanics), as the largest meal of the day for most Latinos, the meal not only includes rice (13 percent of Hispanics compared to 1 percent of non-Hispanics) but also a diverse range of lunchtime options, most of which is cooked at home. Evidence shows that rice dishes are homemade or partly homemade, and prepared using oil and spices, rather than "heat-and-eat or pre-flavored offerings."

"Eating and meal preparation habits can be very diverse by levels of acculturation, and by country of origin. Hispanics tend to continue to eat traditional food and beverages many years after arriving in the U.S., however as they became more acculturated, they expand their repertoire and include more American type dishes. Hispanics, especially the least acculturated, have a preference for scratch cooking, fresh and natural ingredients, but they certainly use packaged goods in their everyday lives," said a spokesman for NPD, a market research firm.

The 2010 census indicated that Hispanics hit the 50 million mark, showing a 43 percent population increase since the year 2000, while the non-Hispanic population has only increased by 5 percent. Hispanics are attractive to manufacturers for that reason, because Hispanic households tend to have more people living in them, and because their concentration in metropolitan areas makes them easy to access.

NPD's NET (National Eating Trends) Hispanic, a yearlong study revolving around Hispanics' consumption and purchasing, identified Hispanics purchasing habits so that marketers could gain an understanding of what items sell well, and to use that demographic as a prototype for shoppers in America. "Pockets of behaviors" have been identified, showing how Hispanics have impacted the food market. The availability of mangos, the consumption of Hispanic soft drinks, and ready-made cultural delicacies such as empandas has made this fact apparent.

"As Hispanics become an even greater influence on our culture and society, marketers would be wise to engage them in a manner that reflects their behaviors," said Darren Seifer, food and beverage industry analyst. "For example, rice is currently thought of as a dinnertime item, but perhaps it's time to rethink this, given the ways it is consumed among Hispanics."

Based on the eating habits of Latinos, there will likely be a development of fast food trends centered around rice as a component in main dishes, or it will be served in lieu of french fries or other side items.