For years, Google was the go-to method for finding answers to life’s most difficult and ridiculous questions.
Then TikTok happened.
You walk into the grocery store to buy eggs. You leave with chips, gum, a new flavor of seltzer, and a $7 chocolate bar you didn’t know you needed. Sound familiar?
That’s impulse buying in action, and it happens every single day. In today’s fast-paced world of ever-changing trends, food products have only seconds to catch a shopper’s attention. That’s where shelf appeal becomes your silent salesperson. Let’s break down how to stop consumers in their tracks and turn browsers into buyers.
In today’s fast-paced, moving world of viral trends, social media dominance, and constantly shifting consumer behaviors, Gen Z is reshaping the way food brands market their products. Long gone are the days of billboard ads and polished commercials being enough. For this generation, authenticity, transparency, and creativity rule the table. In this article, we’ll explore how Gen Z is not only influencing but transforming food marketing and what brands need to do to keep up.
Think about a lemonade stand. Have you ever bought some just because a kid was selling it? Now imagine that same lemonade being sold by a random adult on the sidewalk. Would you feel just as compelled to stop? Probably not.
Why? Because a kid selling lemonade tells a story. They wanted to make money, asked their parents, and set up camp. It tells a story of a kid who had a dream and did it.
Storytelling in food marketing works, and it’s more important than ever.
Let’s dive into why storytelling resonates so deeply in food marketing and how brands can use it to build loyalty, trust, and emotional connection.
Are you currently launching innovative, new products for your food or beverage brand? Do you have ideas in the pipeline for the next 2-3 years? If not, you are already behind.
New product innovation is key to the success of every brand. If you’re simply relying on your current product offering for the future of your brand—then you don’t have a sustainable growth model.
Feelin’ a little tired and old? A little dated, perhaps? Do you feel like the young people aren’t giving you the attention you’ve earned and deserve? Nobody seems to care about you anymore. All that’s left to talk about are the “old” glory days?
You may have been “all that” back in the day, but now you’re a legacy brand that seems to have lost its luster with consumers.
It’s 2024. If your food brand is still targeting women as their sole primary buyers, it may be time to get with the Bro-gram.
Statista recently published a report stating that 50% of men consider themselves to be the primary household grocery shopper. Other studies have that number as high as 60%. According to FMI’s Grocery Shopper Trends report, male shoppers take more frequent trips to the grocery store, they typically outspend females by $22 per week, and they tend to purchase more on impulse.
“Our brand is really growing—we recently gained distribution in 1,000+ new retail outlets, and we’re getting more and more distribution by the day.”
I’ve heard this scenario a thousand times—and it doesn’t always turn out as well as you may think. Is new distribution a good thing? Of course. But it can also be the beginning of the end for a brand. I’ve seen it happen many times over the years, so much so that we’ve even coined a phrase for this particular phenomenon: Death by Distribution.
