Decoding Disparities: Engaging Diverse Health & Wellness Consumers

With multicultural consumers collectively wielding $5.6 trillion in spending power (Forbes), their economic influence is undeniable. For multicultural marketing to be effective, we must go beyond communications and creative approaches to integrate insights across the four P’s: product, price, place and promotion. By embedding a multicultural mindset into every aspect of your business operations and reflecting the values and needs of diverse communities with authenticity, your brand can foster long-lasting connections that extend beyond sales.

Here are seven considerations for successful multicultural marketing strategies and some actionable takeaways for getting your organization started.

1. Research the Right Way

Effective multicultural marketing begins with deep, culturally informed research. Surface-level surveys and AI models, while helpful, often miss critical nuances and carry biases. Instead, invest in qualitative and ethnographic research models to uncover real-life experience and behaviors that shape decisions. For example, observing consumers in their environments can reveal insights that surveys overlook, helping to address the “say-do-gap.” Diverse research teams also matter. Teams with lived cultural experience are better equipped to interpret findings accurately, identifying subtle, yet specific behaviors that others might miss. True understanding starts by seeing the world through the lens of the communities you’re trying to reach.

2. Culture Matters

Multicultural consumers want brands that reflect their values and cultural identities—not just on the surface, but in meaningful way. Cultural nuances shape health behaviors differently across communities. For example:

• Hispanic families often prioritize collective health decisions, with women focusing on the wellbeing of their immediate and extended families, often before their own.
• Asian Americans emphasize preventative care through diet, exercise and balance versus using OTC medications or supplements.
• Young Black men see wellness as only second to finances as a top measure of success, outpacing entrepreneurship and even homeownership.

Even within broad cultural groups, identities are complex. For instance, 90% of Asian adults in the U.S. report seeing more differences than commonalities within their community (Pew Research). Additionally, one in 10 Black Americans today are immigrants who arrived in the U.S. since 2000, bringing perspectives distinct from African Americans whose families have lived in the U.S. for generations. Brands must honor these complexities and avoid a one-size-fits-all approach.

3. Offer Personalized, Family-Centric Solutions

Family plays a central role in multicultural households, where health decisions are often made collectively. Multigenerational households, more common in Hispanic, Black and AANHPI communities, present opportunities for family-focused solutions—like product bundles that address the needs of all generations.

Brands must also consider who the shopper is. Sometimes, a child is making the purchase decision for their parents, or a grandparent makes the purchase decisions for their grandchildren. Understanding these dynamics allows for more tailored messaging and products.

4. Address Health Disparities Head-On

Trust is a cornerstone of effective multicultural marketing, particularly in communities with historical and ongoing healthcare inequities. Health disparities remain a significant challenge in multicultural communities. African Americans are 30% more likely to have high blood pressure, and Hispanic adults are 60% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). Considering such health disparities and how you can address them is critical to building trust in your brand.

Mental health is another pressing issue, particularly in Black communities, where conversations around mental wellness have increased, yet fewer than 40% of Black Americans feel confident in maintaining their mental health (ThinkNow). This presents an opportunity for brands to step in with education, resources and tools that empower consumers to prioritize their mental well-being, while addressing the racial trauma and internalized stress that impact mental health in their community. When you address the unique cultural factors affecting your audience, you’re not just selling products—you’re fostering trust in your brand.

5. Don’t Just Speak to Them—Speak Their Language

Once you understand the values and identities of multicultural consumers, you need to effectively communicate with them. Multilingual campaigns are no longer a “nice to have” when reaching multicultural consumers. Over half of Spanish-speaking consumers expressed greater loyalty to brands that speak their language (Forbes). But it’s not just about translation; it’s about capturing the nuances of language—how it evolves, the slang and the regional variations that make it personal.

Language is deeply personal because it signals respect for cultural identity. Major League Baseball’s #PonleAcento campaign illustrated this by highlighting how many Hispanics in the U.S. lose part of their identity—the accent mark on their names. Whether on passports, drivers’ licenses, or even workplace nametags, these marks often go missing. Nearly 27% of MLB players are Hispanic, yet their jerseys lacked these marks. Restoring the accents and launching #PonleAcento sparked a movement that extended beyond baseball, inspiring other sports and even Hollywood’s Walk of Fame to embrace this change. By addressing a cultural truth, MLB didn’t just create a campaign—it drove meaningful change.

In healthcare, language matters just as much. In Hispanic and AANHPI households, children often act as translators for their parents, creating a heavy emotional burden. Providing materials in parents’ native languages eases the cognitive load on children and fosters trust.

6. Build Trust with Community-Centric Approaches

Trust is essential for multicultural audiences, and it’s often built through community relationships. Local influencers, such as faith leaders, health advocates or family caregivers, hold significant sway in communities:

• Black consumers trust leaders connected to cultural and spiritual values.
• Hispanic communities rely heavily on word of mouth and personal networks for health advice (McKinsey).
• AANHPI audiences often prioritize guidance from family and local caregivers due to limited language support in healthcare settings (Urban Institute).

Partnering with respected community influencers and showing up consistently in meaningful ways can help brands foster lasting trust.

7. Embrace a Digital-First Approach

Multicultural consumers are power-users of digital platforms, blending online and offline experiences in unique ways. From social media to streaming, gaming and e-commerce, these audiences engage deeply with brands in digital spaces. For example, many research products on their phones while shopping in-store.

A digital-first approach allows brands to customize messaging, represent cultural identities authentically and meet multicultural consumers where they are most active.

It All Comes Down to Trust

The future of the wellness industry lies in embracing multicultural consumers, but success requires more than surface-level representation. Brands must embed cultural understanding across all operations, reflect diverse values authentically and consistently show up with solutions that empower these communities.

Are your efforts merely checking the diversity box, or are they driving real impact? At Blue Chip, our CART evaluation system helps brands assess where they are on this journey and can create an actionable roadmap for success.

When done right, multicultural marketing doesn’t just build sales—it builds trust, fosters connections and creates positive change for both brands and the communities they serve.