ORLANDO, FL — Consumer demand for global flavors and foods has been on fire for the past few years, and in terms of dollar sales, that steady growth is starting to outpace the industry as a whole.

“If we look at the last two years in our industry, sales have either been slightly negative to flat, and that’s probably if we’re lucky,” said Nick Lenzi, senior VP of marketing for food distributor Lipari Foods. “When you look at the last couple of years, 82 percent of any growth we have experienced in our industry is coming from global cuisine.”

Lenzi’s comments, made during his IDDBA 2026 presentation, “Capitalizing on the Growth of Global Cuisine,” preceded an in-depth look at the opportunities for food manufacturers in two of the fastest-growing global cuisine categories in the US: Mexican, Central and South American; and Middle Eastern and Mediterranean.

For context, South American and Mexican products represent a mature category, with $12 billion in annual sales, 4.86% year-over-year growth, and a three-year CAGR of 4.96%. Hispanic products in general recorded another $4 billion in sales, up 8.5% over a year ago, and with a three-year CAGR of 8.29%.

Similarly, sales in the Middle Eastern and Mediterranean category are also up, recording a 6.63% year over year increase.

“These two categories are where we see the biggest upside in potential, not only in sales but also in population growth in the US,” Lenzi added.

Lipari’s own customer research dovetails with the data. The company conducted interviews with thousands of customers and found that 41% of consumers plan to increase their spending on international cuisine in the next year. Additionally, 80% of buyers expected international cuisine purchases to increase, and 93% of buyers said they would be willing to switch suppliers in order to have a relevant mix of products in their store.