U.S. Is A Spicier Nation (Literally) Since 1970s

McCormick & Company Inc.

Old Spice: Workers monitor production in a McCormick spice plant, circa 1945.

Published: July 30, 2010

by Andrea Hsu

This summer, as you season a pasta salad or make a rub for your favorite meat, consider this: The U.S. is a far spicier nation than it used to be.

The consumption of spices in the United States has grown almost three times as fast as the population over the past several decades. Much of that growth is attributed to the changing demographics of America.

"We've had a very big influx of immigrant populations -- from Mexico, from the Far East, the Southeast Asia areas, from India," says Peter Furth, CEO of the consulting firm FFF Associates, whose focus is specialty foods, including spices.

Immigration, Furth says, has resulted in a broader array of restaurants. At the same time, food blogs and television cooking shows have spurred more home cooking. Together, those trends have resulted in a much more adventurous national palate.

Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show big gains in Americans' spice consumption since the 1970s, including 600 percent more chili pepper, 300 percent more cumin, and a whopping 1,600 percent more ginger.

McCormick, the world's largest spice and seasoning company, produces more than 1 billion bottles of spices and seasonings annually in its Hunt Valley, Md., plant, nicknamed "Spiceville." The company's net sales in 2009 topped $3 billion.

While McCormick's top sellers are familiar items such as black pepper, cinnamon and Italian seasoning, the company is rolling out less well-known items such as roasted coriander and roasted cumin. With the help of some 40,000 consumer testers, the company has decided that there's a market for such spices.

Marianne Gillette, McCormick's vice president of technical platforms and competencies, says U.S. consumers are far more open to different flavors than they used to be. She tests people for neophobia and neophilia -- fear of new foods and love of new foods.

"When we started some of our work with neophobes about five years ago," Gillette says, "things like pomegranate and wasabi were scary to them. And much less so now, because they're more mainstream."

That mainstreaming of foreign flavors has translated into sales for McCormick. The company's chipotle chile pepper has seen a 70 percent increase in sales since its launch five years ago. And sales of smoked paprika have jumped 300 percent since its launch three years ago.

"Before, people would not even know -- how do you say chipotle?" says Celine Endler, marketing manager for McCormick's consumer products division.

McCormick is not the only spice company seeing growth. Penzeys Spices began as a mail-order business in 1986. It opened its first walk-in store in 1994 and now has 45 stores in 24 states, with plans to open five more this year.

The growing interest in spices is welcome news for food writer Monica Bhide. Born in India, Bhide now lives just outside Washington, D.C., where she writes and teaches classes about spices and modern Indian cuisine.

Twenty years ago, Bhide says, "every time I went back home, I'd come back with a suitcase full of spices, of lentils. Everything used to come from there."

Nowadays, Bhide can get everything she needs at an Indian store in suburban Virginia, or from Amazon.com, where a Tandoori chicken spice mix costs just a few dollars.

While Indian cooking uses a lot of roasted spices, such as the ones McCormick is selling, Bhide says she prefers to roast them herself, at home.

"There's nothing like having your kitchen fill up with an amazing aroma," she says. "When you heat a pan and add a little bit of cumin, and it starts sizzling, the whole room feels so toasty, smells amazing." [Copyright 2013 NPR]

TRANSCRIPT:

RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

As the demographic landscape of the U.S. changes, so has the American palate. Today, we're cooking with and sprinkling on spices that just a decade or two ago, most Americans couldn't even name.

NPR's Andrea Hsu begins her report at the headquarters of a company that's racking up sales because of this.

ANDREA HSU: Just north of Baltimore, I've put on a white jacket, safety goggles and a hairnet. I'm about to enter the most pungent place in America I've ever been.

Mr. JOE DILWORTH (Production Team Manager, McCormick): So Andrea, as you can see, this is a large packaging room right here. We have 12 production lines in our department of Spiceville.

HSU: Joe Dilworth is a production team manager for McCormick, the largest spice company in the world. The air inside this vast plant is warm, and heavy with the smell of garlic and oregano.

Mr. DILWORTH: The annual volume of the plant this year is going to be over a billion eaches, or a billion bottles produced in this plant.

HUS: Adding up to more than $3 billion in sales for this company last year. Among McCormick's best-sellers are black pepper, cinnamon and garlic powder.

Recently, it's rolled out things like roasted coriander and roasted cumin. With the help of some 40,000 consumer testers, the company has concluded that yes, people will buy those things.

Dr. MARIANNE GILLETTE (Food Scientist, McCormick): It's all about the consumer. We are very consumer-driven.

HSU: Food scientist Marianne Gillette has been with McCormick for more than 30 years. Part of her job is finding out what people like and dislike. She tests people for neophobia and neophilia - fear of new foods, and love of new foods.

Dr. GILLETTE: When we started some of our work with neophobes about five years ago, things like pomegranate and wasabi were scary to them - and much less so now because they're more mainstream.

HSU: Celine Endler, a marketing manager here, points out the success McCormick's had with chipotle chili pepper.

Ms. CELINE ENDLER (Marketing Manager, McCormick): We launched chipotle several years ago. I mean, if you look at it, it's up 70 percent in sales in five years. Before, people would not even know how to - how do you say chipotle?

HSU: The fast-food chain of the same name has no doubt helped with that, and says Peter Furth of the consulting firm FFF Associates, so have the changing demographics of America.

Mr. PETER FURTH (CEO, FFF Associates): We've had a very big influx of immigrant populations from Mexico, from the Far East, the Southeast Asia areas, from India.

HSU: Along with people have come a broad array of restaurants. At the same time, Furth says, food blogs and food TV have spurred more home cooking. Add it all together, and you end up with a much more adventurous national palate.

Furth has looked at numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and found that since the '70s, spice consumption has exploded.

Mr. FURTH: Chili peppers grew almost 600 percent.

HSU: Cumin consumption has grown by almost 300 percent; cinnamon, by 900 percent - and then there's ginger.

Mr. FURTH: Well, ginger has grown phenomenally. It's on the order of 1,600, 1,700 percent.

Ms. MONICA BHIDE (Food Writer): It's absolutely amazing. And it's actually so wonderful for me to hear.

HSU: Food writer Monica Bhide was born in India. Now, she lives just outside Washington, D.C., where she writes and teaches classes about spices.

Ms. BHIDE: When I came here 20 years ago, one of the things I used to do is every time I went back home, I'd come back with a suitcase full of spices, of lentils. Everything used to come from there.

HSU: Now, she gets everything from an Indian store nearby and from Amazon, where a tandoori chicken spice mix goes for just a few dollars.

Indian food does call for a lot of roasted spices, like the ones McCormick is selling. But Bhide says she prefers to do the roasting at home.

Ms. BHIDE: When you heat a pan and add a little bit of cumin and it starts sizzling, the whole room feels so toasty, smells amazing.

HSU: Now, that's an experience you can't put in a bottle.

Andrea Hsu, NPR News.

(Soundbite of Spice Girls singing "Spice Up Your Life")

Unidentified Group: (Singing in foreign)

MONTAGNE: And that's the business news on MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.