The Latest Food Marketing Trends
7th December 2023
Written by Hollie Boyd, Student and Isabella Cotton, Student
Food marketing is constantly changing and evolving to retain consumer interest. With the rise in popularity of advertisement-free streaming services such as Netflix and Disney, as well as significant changes to social media platforms, brands have had to evolve their marketing to keep up. Read on to find out more about the latest food marketing trends.
Social Media Advances
Social media has played a big role in marketing in the last decade; however, the platforms most used are constantly changing and evolving. Now, Tik-Tok is one of the fastest growing social platforms 1. Tik-Tok has changed the format of social media – with Instagram and You Tube both taking inspiration from the short video style content in their reels and YouTube shorts, respectively. Many brands now find the most engagement comes from video content1, 2.
These short, snappy videos grab the attention of the viewer, leading to increased brand engagement. However this, creates a challenge for brands; they must convey a clear message to the viewer in a short space of time. Thanks to Tik-Tok, we’ve become familiar with hundreds of food trends (think whipped coffee and egg toast sandwiches!). Brands can jump on the band wagon with these trends, and many have had great success, but the key is to be quick as these trends evolve every week.
User Generator Content (UGC)
User Generator Content (UGC) is another way brands are promoting products and services. Individuals with a range in size of following from hundreds of followers to 100,000s can be utilised to promote a brand or product. Consumers are more trusting of content made and delivered by other consumers 1,3. They can promote a product through reviews, videos using the product and promoting what they enjoyed about the product. Using an individual with similar core values or target audiences can further build that trust with the consumer and ensure the message is reaching the right people. McCains, for example, brought a group of Tik-Tok influencers to their farm to advertise their commitment to sustainability. The ‘Tik-Tokers’ vlogged about their time there and created informal videos about McCain and the sustainability of their farming.
Social Responsibility
Another marketing trend is the use of social responsibility to market a brand or product 1. Brands can demonstrate their commitment to current social issues for their consumers. Examples of common issues discussed in food and nutrition sectors are sustainability, the cost-of-living crisis and consumer health. Some consumers will buy products from brands which values align with their own, and so promotion of these brand values are more important now than ever.
As consumers are more aware of their impact on the environment for example, they will search for brands with a highlighted commitment to keeping their practises sustainable 4. Walkers, for example, are promoting their social responsibility as they promote their Sustainable Farming Program- which helps their farmers to reduce their impact on the environment 5. Additionally, they are marketing their commitment to public health as well, with ‘45% less salt’ advertised on their some of current packaging.
Influencer Marketing
A marketing tool that has perhaps changed the least over the past few decades is the use of celebrities or people of influence to market a product or service 3,4. Just Eat, for example, has had great success with celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, Katy Perry, Christina Aguilera and Latto to promote their brand through a song. Warburtons has Samuel L. Jackson in their current advertisement campaign. Often this is dependent on the budget the brand has to spend on a marketing campaign and they must weigh up the return on investment with the cost of securing the key opinion leader/influencer.
Working with qualified and regulated healthcare professionals (HCPs) is another hotly debated topic. Some argue that using HCPs as brand ambassadors increases the credibility of the brand as HCPs are regulated and governed by professional codes of conduct and must share evidence-based information. However, there is must debate in the industry as to whether brands need to declare the fees paid to HCPs in the interests of transparency.
Artificial Intelligence
Finally, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the newest form of marketing to hit. Some brands are experimenting with the use of AI in the development of more personalised marketing campaigns for their consumers. For more information about how Artificial Intelligence is being used as a marketing tool click here to read this article: (link to: Latest Updates in Marketing.)
References:
1. Selzy (2023) Marketing Trends to Watch and Get Inspired By in 2023 [online] Available at: https://selzy.com/en/blog/marketing-trends/#:~:text=Newest%20marketing%20trends%20of%202023%201%20Social%20media,%28VR%29%20And%20Augmented%20Reality%20%28AR%29%20…%20More%20items[Accessed on: 10/10/2023]
2. ANA (2023) 7 Marketing and Advertising Predictions for 2024 [online] Available at: https://www.ana.net/miccontent/show/id/ii-2023-07-marketing-predictions-2024#:~:text=Marketing%20Trends%20and%20Predictions%20for%202024.%201%20Rise,7%20Continued%20Shift%20Toward%20Streaming%20and%20CTV%20[Accessed on: 10/10/2023]
3. Exploding Topics (2023) 12 Key Marketing Trends (2023-2026) [online] Available at: https://explodingtopics.com/blog/marketing-trends [Accessed on: 20/10/2023]
4.Eat Marketing (2023) Our top seven food and marketing trends for 2023 [online] Available at: https://eat-marketing.co.uk/our-top-seven-food-and-marketing-trends-for-2023/ [Accessed on: 13/10/2023]
5. Walkers (2023) Our Commitment [online] Available at: https://www.walkers.co.uk/sustainability/process/ [Accessed on: 25/10/2023].
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