Sweet or savory, healthy or junk, vegan or meaty – the food industry has a lot on its plate. As customers’ taste evolve, so does food marketing. In this article, we uncover the food marketing trends that’ll consume marketers in the year to come.

Food is an integral part of the holidays. We plan our holidays around food. Did you know the month of December is loaded with special food days? Here are some of our favorites:

• December 21, National Hamburger Day
• December 23, National Bake Day
• December 24, National Egg-Nog Day
• December 25, National Pumpkin Day
• December 26, National Candy Cane Day
• December 27, National Fruitcake Day
   

Which got us thinking; when an entire month is dedicated to food, delivering mouth-watering experiences should be on top of the 2020 food marketing menu.

In this article, we serve up some piping-hot food marketing trends for the foodie generation.

Learn More: Boost Your Holiday Marketing Strategy With Experiential MarketingOpens a new window

Food for Thought for Your Food Marketing Strategy 2020

Food marketers have a lot on their plates for 2020. Here are some food statistics compiled by Finances OnlineOpens a new window :

• 48% of the average American’s food budget goes to restaurants and 13% of Americans are loyal to their favorite restaurants.
• SEO is the best marketing strategy as 56% of traffic to food websites comes from search engines.
• 90% of customers conduct research before dining out and 92% read reviews before visiting.
• Instagram is the preferred social media platform for 33% of restaurants.
• 67% of restaurants paid for social media ads in 2019.
• Coupons are popular among consumers (21%) for food delivery purchases.
• Online grocery shopping is expected to be a $100 billion industry by 2020.
   

Let’s uncover five food marketing trends derived from the statistics above.

Learn More: Nielsen Launches RestauranTrak, an Analytic Platform for FoodServicesOpens a new window

5 Ways Food Marketing Will Evolve in 2020

Here are our tips for food marketing in 2020.

1. Food SEO is crucial
 

When 56% of website traffic comes from search engines and foodies search for the best food options near them, while traveling, or dining out; it becomes crucial to get your food SEO right, in a variety of media.

• Images: The age-old practice of tempting consumers with drool-worthy visuals is not going anywhere. Delicious images of specialty dishes can spark visual hunger and motivate consumers to order from you. And as Google’s image and reverse image searchOpens a new window gets more precise, it is best to write descriptive metadata for your images to be found.
• Cooking videos: Another trend that is catching up is behind the scenes videos of how food is produced, baked, cooked, decorated, served, and packed. Consider the huge success of Buzzfeed’s TastyOpens a new window enterprise. Cooking videos or recipes, too, are gaining popularity among viewers and vloggers, which generally demonstrate the use of specific food products.
• Voice: It is now common for many home-cooks to listen to recipe instructions and cook along. Many food bloggers have therefore started to structure their content to better fit voice search, like how-to videos, shopping and ingredient lists, etc. Many restaurants have also started accepting reservation requests from voice assistants, making voice-SEO a staple of food marketing.
   

You can look at the Smitten Kitchen blogOpens a new window for some food blogging and SEO inspiration.

The perfect recipe for your food SEO is – ‘crisp‘ content like images and videos, supplemented with rich metadata, cooking directions and product information, which are further enriched with correct proportions, calories, and nutritional information.

2. Social media pivots to UGC
 

Whether it is appetizing images or cooking hacks or food inspiration or online grocery shopping options, an effective social media strategyOpens a new window is a must to connect with millennials and Gen-Z.

User-Generated Content (UGC) on social media will gain traction in 2020. Here is how you can use UGC to engage and entice gastronomes on various social media platforms.

• Pinterest is a visual treat for consumers. You can leverage Pinterest to inspire consumers with high-quality, hunger-inducing images. Running hashtag contests for users to upload the food they have ordered from your restaurant will drive engagement and increase brand awareness.
• Instagram can be used to prompt users to upload their favorite food images. You could also run contests like re-creating a popular recipe from your kitchen or DIY recipes.
• TikTokOpens a new window could be another platform that might be mined for UGC. How about short videos for food-hacks or taste reactions?
   

For instance, Chinese restaurant, HiadilaoOpens a new window let users create their unique off-menu dish in the restaurant and upload on DouyinOpens a new window (TikTok in China).

Example of Food Video Uploaded on Douyin

3. Healthy bites take priority
 

Consumers today are more aware about a healthy lifestyle and committed to healthier eating. Also, many have adopted specific diets based on beliefs or health conditions or food sensitivities.

We will see marketers highlighting various food alternatives a brand offers to its customers, like organic, vegan or plant-based, gluten or soy-free, functional ingredients, etc.

Brands will increasingly cater to kidsOpens a new window and make menu options more appealing (or approval worthy) to their caregivers. For example, VegPowerOpens a new window and ITVOpens a new window collaborated for an ad campaignOpens a new window that inspired children to eat more vegetables.

Campaign Video for Eat Them to Defeat Them

Food marketing will continue to include content which outlines

• Nutritional information and portion size
• The ingredient list and from where they were sourced
• Certifications
• Healthier, allergen-free, (and/or) sustainable options
   

4. Social proof only rises in importance
 

Customers conduct through research and refer to reviews before dining out or choosing to order. This makes it necessary for marketers to gather social proof like reviews, feedback, etc. about their food items (or brand). Google Maps, YELP, Facebook, and TripAdvisor are popular among reviewers, according to DigitalRestaurantOpens a new window .

To garner great reviews, marketers can:

• Request feedback (on one of the above review portals) immediately after customers have been served.
• Proactively work on customer feedback and suggestions, reach out to inform them about any progress, and request them to visit again.
• Invite customers for food-tastings or try out your new products and request them to write a review.
• Incentivize your customers with special discounts or offers to write reviews.
   

Bangers and Brews in Bend, OROpens a new window was the #1 place to eat in 2019, according to YelpOpens a new window – just take look at how consistently and positively the owner interacts with reviewers on the platform.

Learn More: Yelp Is Taking Personalized Shopping Experiences to the Next Level: AI & ML Tips for MarketersOpens a new window

5. Location and geo-targeting rise
 

Food and location are tied together. Imagine a hungry customer traveling to a new city or an office goer near your location during breakfast hours. Food marketing in 2020 will aggressively capture these moments and turn them into opportunities at the right place and right time.

Here is how you can leverage location for food marketing:

• Listing on Google is the first and foremost step you can take to be found based on your location.
• Geo-Targeted AdsOpens a new window can be sent to customers who are in your restaurant’s vicinity.
• Food Trucks can be positioned near offices or residential areas to serve the customer who’s out and about.
   

Burger King used geo-fencingOpens a new window (or geo-conquesting in this case) to lure customers away when they entered their competitor (McDonald’s) location. Customers could download the Burger King app and order the Whopper burger for 1 cent.

Burger King’s 1 Cent Per Whopper Ad

Toothsome Takeaways

Good food marketing will never go stale. As long as there is a love for food; consumers will continue to explore and experiment with food. In 2020, we expect digital to be pivotal to the food industry, with contributions in visual content, social media, and location to create desire and then tickle the taste buds of food lovers.

What is your 2020 food marketing recipe?

Share your food marketing ideas with us on Twitter,Opens a new window LinkedIn,Opens a new window or FacebookOpens a new window ; we’re always listening!