The social feast: how creators are revolutionizing the food industry

Our affinity with and love for food saw the food category become an instant favorite on early social media feeds. Even back in 2019, avocado toast reigned on Instagram feeds, with 1.8m hashtags, accruing a simultaneous rise in demand for aesthetically pleasing, ‘Instagram-able’ plates.

This ‘trend’ of aesthetically pleasing food has become a staple of modern menus, and online content documenting food is evolving to push boundaries further. In 2023, audiences are demanding more than pretty plates and instead presenting an appetite for funny, honest and educational food content to engage with.

TikTok eats

Sharing food pictures, videos, and recipes is a trend that has extended across new and growing social media platforms, and has been supercharged further by TikTok. To date, #food has gained over 555bn views on TikTok. Here, TikTok’s emphasis on short-form video content meant that new types of food content reached new types of audiences. Recipes like Gigi Hadid’s vodka pasta and Emily Mariko’s salmon rice bowls became the new it-meals for the platform’s predominantly Gen Z and millennial followers.

Influence and consumption in the food industry have quickly become synonymous, and trending dishes with devoted hashtags have garnered cult followings and virality. In 2023, 81% of surveyed cooks report cooking recipes that they discover on social media.

The growth of online ‘foodie’ communities, from diet-specific to ingredient-oriented, has subsequently created an increase in exposure for food brands that are ready to join in. Waitrose recently reported that its feta cheese sales increased by 33% between May and June 2022, following ‘whipped feta’ trending on TikTok. The British supermarket now includes TikTok in its annual food and drink report, manifesting the undeniable influence of food content on the platform.

Social media has become integral to the consumer buying appetite; the digital footprint of brands in the food industry is loaded with opportunity. With consumers actively searching for new recipes, new restaurants and new foods via platforms online, and 92% of consumers around the world reporting they trust influencer marketing over traditional advertising, creators can act as a voice piece for brands looking to authentically take part.

Social listening, but better

By leveraging creators and user-generated content, food brands can propel their brand to acclaim, and build out their narrative and branding online. The growth of communities orientated around particular diets, ingredients and lifestyles lends itself to targeted marketing opportunities, whereby food brands can forge meaningful, long-term partnerships with creators and communities who truly champion and project their brand.

Similarly, creator marketing offers a unique opportunity for brands devoted to pioneering their products, as creators and their audiences can double as a concentrated focus group for consumer feedback. Brands can be empowered by the creator's knowledge of both the target audience, and the wider target market, offering brands what we describe as social listening, but better.

Creator content on social media continues to revolutionize the food industry, changing the way in which food is shared, viewed, bought, and consumed. More importantly, creators are equipping brands who elect to join in with expert knowledge and insight into consumer markets, as well as access to them in a way that is more succinct, intelligible and targeted than ever before.