Hispanic consumers have a new way to say Feliz Navidad this season: A catalog specializing in Latino-themed greeting cards hit the mailboxes this summer. Titled Libre-Creacion, la base para tus ideas (Free-Creation, the basis for your ideas) the 30-page catalog targets Latino women celebrating a special occasion.
Libre-Creacion is the brainchild of greeting-card company Lantigua Designs and stationery and décor products manufacturer The Occasions Group. In addition to Lantigua Designs’ Christmas card line, Libre-Creacion sells a variety of blank invitations that can be used for baptism, communion, birthdays, weddings, and other special occasions.
The partners mailed the first edition in July. “We rely on house lists and over 4,000 Hispanic channel partners” across the U.S. and Puerto Rico for marketing efforts,” says Claudia Goffan, Hispanic market business development director for The Occasions Group. Catalog orders are fulfilled from a facility in Waco, TX. The catalog will mail periodically throughout the year and is available on request, Goffan says. “We are already seeing tremendous acceptance of this initiative by the marketplace.”
Goffan says the idea for the catalog came from ongoing field research in which her company identified a need for print-at-home invitations that could be used for Hispanic customers celebrating holidays, birthdays, and other occasions such as quinceañera, a traditional celebration of a young woman’s 15th birthday. These invitations can be printed and assembled at home, which enables customers to add their personal expression.
“There was a lack of original Latin-flavored product in the holiday market and a need for bilingual cards,” Goffan says. “We saw Lantigua Designs’ ideas and knew they were what our market would want to send to their friends and family–Latino Holiday designs made especially for the Hispanic market. We also responded to our dealer’s requests for flexibility in being able to order items out of the catalog as needed or purchase them in advance to keep on their shelves.”
Lantigua Designs founder/creative director Lizette M. Lantigua notes that her company “has a thorough knowledge of the humor and traditions of the Hispanic culture. We highlight that in the illustrations and messages of our product. We are not just translated English language greeting cards. We are also aware that Hispanics are not just one ethnic group, but many different ones with similarities and differences.” Even within one ethnic group, there are differences depending in age, social economic status, level of education, and years of living in the U.S. she says. “Our goal as a company is to continue to grow our product line, reach other markets in the U.S. and cater to all Hispanics.”
While assimilated Hispanics buy English language greeting cards, Lantigua says, “they also like to buy cards and other products that represent their heritage. It is just like personalizing a card. There are many English-language written greeting cards but when you find one that has your initial or name on it, you just have to have it. This is the same concept for a Hispanic-themed, bilingual, or Spanish greeting card. When you see a card that represents the traditions or humor you grew up with, you can’t wait to buy it and send it to your friends and family.”