The Best Food Influencer Campaigns

The social media marketing realm isn’t shy of a food influencer campaign or two. A lot of the success of these campaigns is owed to the simple fact that food is one of the only things all of us have in common.

Food is essential for survival and it tastes even better when it’s marketed deliciously. 

Food influencer campaigns are among some of the most memorable and persuasive and we’re here to remind you of some of them in this blog.

What do the best food influencer campaigns have in common?

Whether they’re made in-house or through a social agency, the best food influencer campaigns all have common aspects that automatically enter them into the campaign hall of fame.

These include:

Leveraging the power of Pinterest

Pinterest is a perfect environment for brand exposure and themed Pinterest boards that are sponsored by food brands continue to see huge engagement. These boards are a great way to generate more organic traffic as their purpose is not to push a product, but rather act as a resource for a range of content (ie, a healthy eating board).

The reason behind Pinterest’s popularity is because the modern day consumer no longer trawls through recipe books in search of their next recipe. Instead they head to social media to read reviews and recommendations before deciding what to eat. 

Recognising that photography is the most important element

Sure, the product itself is the star of the show, but if it doesn’t look aesthetically pleasing, then no one is going to buy it. 

Beautiful photos = people who will be inspired to try your recipe/buy your product.

It’s important to remember that there are different photography styles. The best food influencer campaigns prove that they know their brand’s tone down to a T by using the best photography styles to represent their product. 

Itsu does an excellent job of letting its photography style speak for the brand. Their clean, minimal aesthetic represents the simplicity of their recipes, suggesting light and refreshing food.

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Creating an experience around a brand

The food influencer campaigns that create an experience around the brand are those that succeed most. Consumers want to connect with stories nowadays, not lifeless products, and brand experiences are the most effective way to generate that aspirational content. What’s more, when these stories are delivered by carefully selected influencers, your target audience are more likely to want to tune and engage with your brand, as it’s authentically being promoted by someone they trust.

Food influencer campaign examples

#RefreshWithHelloFresh

For those of us who are social media-savvy, HelloFresh is a brand we’re all familiar with. Founded in 2011, it was the world’s first meal kit company and has since gone on to become a global success.

A lot of the company’s success is owed to the influencer marketing strategy it has in place. In 2019, for its #RefreshWithHelloFresh campaign, HelloFresh teamed up with 15 UK-based micro influencers who were up and coming in different sectors. These included lifestyle with Rosie 

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A post shared by Rosie Ann Butcher (@rosieannbutcher)

Decoration with Jennifer

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A post shared by The House That Jen Built® (@thehousethatjenbuilt_)

And family with Coral

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A post shared by Coral Golding (@coral_pearl_)

HelloFresh commissioned these content creators to participate in a 21-day long campaign to try out different HelloFresh recipes.

The campaign resulted in HelloFresh increasing impressions by 274% and receiving 325% more content. 

Dunkin’ Donuts X Charlie D’Amelio

Charlie D’Amelio was already driving business to Dunkin’ Donuts long before they approached her to be the face of their next campaign. 

In early September 2020, the brand launched ‘The Charli’. This was a cold brew coffee that became instantly popular among her Gen Z followers. The hype generated drew in consumers from outside of the brand’s target market too. Dunkin’ Donuts saw a 57% increase in app downloads that quarter and a 20% boost to cold brew sales. 

@dunkin So official, we put it in writing @charlidamelio. Order ‘The Charli’ on the Dunkin’ app!? #CharliRunsOnDunkin #TheCharli #Dunkin ♬ original sound – Dunkin’

Skittles

Before launching ‘Giant Skittles’, the brand collaborated with influencers to create excitement before hitting stores. They created colourful and vibrant content, while still maintaining the brand’s tone of voice to effectively reach and engage with a wider audience. 

For the campaign, 18 Skittle-loving influencers created 52 pieces of authentic content, achieving over 143,000 impressions, an average Instagram engagement rate of 3.3% and over £6,000 earned media value (EMV). 

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A post shared by Ginger Natalie ??‍? (@gingernatalie_x)

McDonalds

Though the word “micro” is not usually associated with one of the world’s biggest fast food brands, McDonalds recruited the help of 14 micro influencers to promote their Buttermilk Crispy Tenders.

The campaign results: 

1. Average Instagram engagement rate of 5.9%
2. Over 307,000 likes
3. Brand placement across multiple social media markets
4. Promotion for key products like #ButtermilkCrispyTenders
5. More authentic brand building with micro communities

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