Equal parts educational, exciting, and overwhelming, the National Restaurant Association (NRA) show once again proved a great opportunity to learn about foodservice trends and to network with like-minded peers and influencers. More than 2,000 companies displayed their products last month in Chicago during the largest annual gathering of the restaurant, foodservice, and hospitality industry. I…
Retail
June 6, 2017
How Grocery Retailers Capitalize on Convenience
‘Convenience food’ was once a pejorative, but not anymore. Today, it’s practically a requirement for food brands to provide convenient products, even when delivering “clean”, gourmet or vegan options. As A. Elizabeth Stone stated in the Institute of Food Technologists’ “Top 10 Food Trends” report in April 2017, “Despite the recent media…
Media
June 1, 2017
Food Brands Embrace Native Advertising in Print
Native advertising, integrated content, custom content, branded content, advertorial, sponsored by, promotional feature… To the reader, is it advertising or editorial? As digital and social platforms continue to monetize with native in various forms, the popularity and learnings from digital has spread opportunities to the magazine field. While print advertorials…
Food PRFoodservice
May 16, 2017
Brand Journalism Buoys Food Marketing
Just as chefs thoughtfully select ingredients and carefully choose certain techniques to tell a unique flavor story, food marketers should act in an equally deliberate manner in regards to the content they choose to express their brand. An increasingly powerful communication tool within the food industry, brand journalism influences consumers…
Consumer Insights & Trends
May 9, 2017
5 Food Crazes To Elevate Your Brand
If you look at the mindset of the current consumer, the food trends make sense. People are more intent on eating food that’s good for them; the concept of “wellness” has emerged as a status symbol. Snacking (a dirty word when I was a child) has turned healthy and hip.…
Consumer Insights & TrendsRetail
Target just announced plans to spend billions of dollars over the next three years to redesign 500 stores. The redesign places greater emphasis on groceries, with a second entrance providing easy access to the grocery department, more fresh produce, and self-checkout lanes. The importance of grocery shoppers is not lost on Target. The…
DigitalFood CampaignsMedia
In 2017, for the first time ever, digital media spending is expected to overtake TV advertising: businesses around the world will spend more in internet advertising than television. According to eMarketer, in the US, TV’s share will be at 35.8% of Total Media Ad spend and Digital at 38.4%. So it…
DigitalSocial
February 14, 2017
What Food Brands Need To Know About Influencer Marketing
For food brands, content marketing works to attract and engage the right audience with the intention of selling product directly to consumers or increasing exposure on menus. Building an audience usually takes time, but there is one proven shortcut: work with influencers. Influencer marketing is a form of relationship-building—a way to…
Consumer Insights & Trends
February 10, 2017
7 Habits Of Highly Effective Fruit & Veggie Marketers
Stephen Covey first published his hugely popular book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, back in 1989. Since then, a cottage industry seems to have risen up with various pundits proposing their own “seven habits” lists for all kinds of industries and interests. I’m no pundit—and I’m certainly no Stephen…
DigitalMedia
February 4, 2017
3 Ways To Make Readers Crave Your Food Brand Newsletters
They flood our email inboxes daily, but how many do we actually read? With more than 200 billion emails sent and received daily, standing out in an overflowing inbox is no easy feat. Email newsletters are one of the easiest and most direct ways to market food brands to consumers, so everyone and…