Spanish-dominant Hispanics buy name brand personal care products at a higher rate than their English-dominant counterparts, not good news for private label in that category, says just-released research from Mintel International, Chicago.

Sixty-four percent of Hispanics surveyed having income of $25,000-$49,999 say they buy name brand body soaps or shower gels. Also, 64 percent of Spanish-dominant Hispanics, compared to 58 percent of English-dominant Hispanics, say they buy name brand body soaps or shower gels.

"Spanish-dominant Hispanics are most likely to stick to their favorite brand of hand soap, body soap and shower gel, signifying that less acculturated Hispanics remain loyal to the same brand despite the economy," says Leylha Ahuile, senior multicultural analyst at Mintel. "English-dominant Hispanics tend to have higher household incomes and apparently are less concerned with brand name soaps and more focused on saving money."

Spanish-dominant consumers also are more likely to stick with name brand lotions (51 percent versus 35 percent of English-dominant consumers), facial cleansers (27 percent versus 20 percent of English-dominant consumers) and toothpaste or mouthwash (69 percent versus 65 percent of English-dominant consumers), refusing to trade to more affordable private label personal care products.

"In spite of Hispanics' lower-than-average household income level, they indexed higher than non-Hispanics in the consumption of personal care products in 2009," notes Ahuile. "Over the last six years, Hispanics have consistently increased their spending on personal care products. And within personal care, Hispanics index higher than non-Hispanics in the subcategories of hair care products and bath products."