Kroger Hires Head of Multicultural Marketing

Kroger has spent several years expanding its selections, particularly of ethnic foods. Now, it has created a new management position and hired Angel Colon, a veteran of Goya Foods and Kellogg, to head "multicultural business development."

Colon "will be responsible for enhancing Kroger's approach to serving its diverse customer base," according to a Kroger news release.

The question is how much emphasis Kroger will put on its product mix, and how much it will put on appealing to demographic groups. Since Americans of all ethnicities are increasingly attracted to ethnic foods of all kinds, a good balance is called for â€" it would be a mistake to market Hispanic foods only to Hispanic shoppers, for instance.

Kroger, though, has a decent record in that regard. Unlike some other mainstream grocery chains, it tends to spread ethnic foods throughout its stores, rather than ghettoize them all in a single aisle.

A poster named "Kitty," decided in 2005 that she liked her local Kroger store in Athens, Ohio, so much that it deserved a review on Yahoo's local pages. "An extensive variety of produce and ethnic foods in addition to a fish and meat market and sushi bar!" she wrote.

It's hard to know Kitty's ethnicity, but Athens is a pretty typical, All-American town -- meaning that it's mostly white, but has burgeoning minority populations. And if Athens is like most such towns, most residents of all demographic groups are interested in a greater choice of ethnic fare.

Colon held similar jobs at Kellogg and Goya, and has 16 years of executive experience in the food business.