Elevating Latinos elevates the entire industry

By Jenny Yu.  

The Heritage Para Latinos program focuses on education, account access and vendor-supported community building. 

The growing influence of Spanish-speaking contractors in the pool and outdoor living sectors took center stage at the Pool Spa Patio and Deck Show in Las Vegas, where Heritage Pool Supply highlighted its expanding Heritage Para Latinos program. Julissa Chavez, director of marketing for SRS and Heritage and OCS Influencer, discussed the company’s effort to bring greater training, access and community to a segment she says is essential to the industry’s future. 

Julissa, who helped launch SRS Para Latinos on the roofing side, said she is excited to apply that experience to the pool and landscape category. “We were the first distribution to launch our Hispanic contractor programs,” she said. “We are really excited to also be that pioneer in the pool side of the industry. We're taking the best practices that we've learned the last five years and bringing it over to the pool pros.” 

She noted that Spanish speakers make up a significant portion of the pool industry workforce. “The barriers to entry are lower, so I would say, if not as much as the roofing segment, which is about 55 to 60% Spanish speaking, Spanish speakers are probably 70 to 75% for landscape and pool,” she said. 

Heritage Para Latinos’ focus is first on developing their presence and audience. “Growing that connection on the Heritage Paral Latinos Instagram and Facebook is the primary thing that we're pushing,” Julissa said. “We're starting to build that community of Spanish speakers.” 

Their second focus is educating their new audience on the overall benefits of being a Heritage customer. “In the Spanish speaking segment, there's a large lack of information. they might not know that opening an account can provide better pricing and easier ordering,” she shared. “It just elevates an industry to bring this information to these incredibly intelligent, committed and educated individuals. We want to connect with people all the way.” 

Ultimately, Julissa said the goal is to elevate the entire industry by inviting vendors and partners to join in this commitment to center Spanish speakers. “It is a community that we are building, not for the contractors only, but also for the industry,” she said. 

Watch the full interview to learn more about the Heritage Para Latinos program and its impact across the pool and outdoor living industries.