According to research from the Department of Agriculture, Mexican food has increased in popularity and Americans are now eating four times more of it than twenty years ago.

Mexican cuisine, along with Chinese and Italian, is becoming a part of mainstream culture. Not only has Mexican food had a major influence on America’s meals, it has also had a tremendous effect on market sales. Salsa, a condiment once mainly used for tacos, outranked ketchup as the number one condiment in the United States, accumulating sales of over $700 million dollars a year.

Food experts say that Americans are acquiring more of an adventurous appetite. Mexican food, as well as other ethnic foods, caters to America’s increased cravings for new flavors and ingredients. Also, the rise of the Hispanic population, with 35 million Hispanics in the United States according to the 2000 census, has increased the demand for ethnic foods.

Craving sensory stimulation

Why do we have an incredible craving for sensory stimulation … retail experiences … and experiential activities? Americans are working harder and longer, with less relaxation and more anxiety-ridden anticipation. As anxiety levels continue to rise, the incidence of stress related disorders will continue to keep pace. With American's increasing desire to replace drugs with natural remedies and even foods, the market has never been better positioned for natural stress-related solutions.

We've got headaches that won't go away. We toss and turn and look for the magic pill-artificial or hopefully natural that will bring on the big sleep every night. We are willing to trade some of our wealth away for relaxation and a sense of peace in the midst of all the change. 82% of women and 70% of men say they feel stressed out at least a few times a month.

We’re looking to bury the ravages of stress in the earth. Gardening is the number one leisure activity of Americans. Healing gardens are popping up in commercial and healthcare facilities. We are trying to bring the outdoors into our homes and our offices.

The number of people with stress-related health conditions is expected to rise 7% by 2005 and the American Medical Association notes that 75-90% of visits to physicians are for stress-related conditions. It costs businesses over $50 bil/yr.

Over 19 million Americans are suffering from depression and 23 million have anxiety illness. Sales of antidepressants total $4.79 bil and anxiety drug sales are $722 mil. Research has shown that when a person is suffering with severe depression his sense of smell and taste completely shut down; further diminishing his enjoyment of life and inhibiting his ability to retreat from the depression. The daily stresses of life can place us in a state of temporary depression. Our senses become dulled and in a subconscious attempt to recapture the ecstasy of the sensory experiences we were born to enjoy we find ourselves searching for a quick fix of sensory medicine through positive interactive experiences at game centers and entertainment venues, as well as, in addictive behaviors such as overeating and overconsumption.

Talk

A new form of disease is entering our culture, called "Stress Envy," it is infiltrating conversations around the water cooler at work as well as the casual over-the-backyard-fence interaction. Listen for it -- it’s easy to identify. The first person explains how busy and stressed out they are with their hectic lifestyle. Before you know it, another person in the group speaks up and makes it clear that his life is far more stressful than the first and continues to explain why . . . then the third person speaks up, and not to be outdone attempts to convince that her life beats the stress levels of either of the first two . . . and so on . . . and so on . . .

Today we have a love-hate relationship with stress. Too little and we go stir-crazy. Too much and we burn out. We are attracted and repelled at the same time. The absence of stress is death. The harnessing of stress in the form of positive sensory experiences provides a way to take living to a new level.

Published: December 6, 2002

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Kathy Lamancusa is a trend strategis, professional speaker and author who tracks the forces that impact our lives. Over 1.6 million copies of Kathy's books are in print, and she has appeared on numerous television and radio shows including Oprah! She is a public speaker who can offer organizations entertaining and enlightening peeks into what is coming and what is shaping change so that they can better reach their own customer bases.