Nobody’s resilient to the charms of good food, but even food needs a leg-up in the world of marketing. And the forward-thinking companies in the food industry showed us how it’s supposed to be done by collaborating with social media influencers and creating hugely successful campaigns.
If you’re interested in how these companies did it, keep reading – we’ve rounded up six great examples of collaborations between the food industry and social media influencers.
Chupa-Chups
Remember when growing up, Chupa-Chups was the tastiest candy and a vital part of your style? Well, the brand is very aware of the fact, but with their customers of the yesteryear all grown up now, they needed to make their appeal to the younger generations, too.
That’s why they’ve created a whole new campaign based on influencers and vloggers who surely know how to reach out to the coveted Gen Z. The content they created was light and fun, and the adjacent hashtag named #ChupaChupsChallenge made it even better. In fact, Chupa-Chups created a slew of challenges under the hashtag, all of which seem to have worked well with the younger audiences, all while translating the brand slogan – Forever Fun – into bona fide action.
Oreo
‘The world’s most popular cookie’ isn’t the one to sleep on the laurels of popularity, and this collaboration with Instagram’s famous Chiara Ferragni just stole the show. Oreo’s idea was to launch limited edition packaging based on Ferragni’s style since she’s one of the most coveted Instagram Opinion Leaders in fashion. And no doubt, it worked like a charm translating this cool Oreo image to millennials and Gen Z.
They also took it one step further by launching a capsule collection inspired by Chiara, which the users could win by participating in various competitions on social media channels.
Bigelow Tea
Bigelow Tea is just an exemplary brand – not only does this tea manufacturer do a Community Challenge each year (it’s their 35th this year!), but they also find new and inventive ways to promote their product. One of their excellent ideas was to pair up with food and lifestyle influencers to create new ways to use their tea. And that’s not only unique and tasty recipes but also using tea for making lip balm and re-using tea bags in many great DIY ways.
Later on, the recipes and the DIY projects were compiled into a section of Bigelow Tea’s webpage so their clients could find useful tips all in one place.
HelloFresh
HelloFresh, a pioneer in meal kits, is now a global force to be reckoned with. Their global presence in fourteen countries and three continents was surely no accident but a success propelled by great ideas and excellent marketing.
A couple of years ago, HelloFresh collaborated with fifteen micro-influencers from different sectors – lifestyle, decor, family, and so on – and asked them to participate in a 21-day challenge. The challenge was supplemented by the hashtag #RefreshWithHelloFresh, and the whole idea was to ask the influencers to try new recipes each day for the length of the campaign. This created loads of new, beautiful content, spread brand awareness and gained HelloFresh thousands of new followers and customers.
Bob’s Red Mill
Bob’s Red Mill is a US-based company selling non-GMO and organic cereals, flours, and cake mixes. Their idea for an influencer marketing campaign was to collaborate with 51 influencers, one per each US state. The creators were asked to create an original cookie recipe based on their state’s cuisine, using Bob’s Red Mills ingredients. To build up anticipation for the patriotic recipes, Red Mills divide their campaign into three sections:
- The idea was first introduced in a Facebook live translation with Martha Stewart and Chef Geoffrey Zakarian;
- The second phase was a Twitter party staged for the end-of-the-year celebrations;
- And lastly, the campaign was fully launched on the influencers’ social media accounts and reshared by the company’s own.
This campaign not only spoke to the consumer’s patriotism and rooting for their own state but also gave the followers new recipes, gained brand awareness, and highlighted consumption ideas.
GoodFoods
We all know that avocado was probably the first vegetable to become a super trend, but that doesn’t mean it still didn’t need any marketing. Knowing this, GoodFoods, an American company specializing in juices and sauces made from avocados, stepped in with an excellent campaign to raise its brand awareness.
Their idea was to ask creators and bloggers to develop new recipes using their products for special occasions. Those included baseball Game Days, Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve – any occasion that needed that special something on a table.
The social media influencer campaign was also supplemented by paid ads on various relatable networks, like Women’s Health, and well, it proved to be a huge success for the brand.
Takeaway Note
As with any other industry, food is all about originality and thinking outside the box. However, one thing is prevalent here – customers seem to love new original recipes and ways to use their beloved products even when they’re not meant for consumption. So, hopefully, these examples have inspired you to work on your social media influencer campaign and if you need any help launching it, give us a message!
