Weekly News Insight: Foodstagram on the Rise
Do you think food is the thing that’s shared and accepted by people the most?
How does it feel to sip blood (sangria) straight out of the blood bag? Or drinking vodka drinks served in glowing (plastic) skull? Well, expect that spooky, eerie culinary experiences from the theme parks across the United States this time of the year.
In the spirit of the “trick or treat”, amusement parks the like of Disneyland and Universal studios create freakish dishes and give them not-so-normal names like Mind Flyer’s Milkshake and Boogie Man Sundae. Other times, they set up the drinking bar in a peculiar setting such as a refrigerator container that resembles a meat refrigerator.
The list of bizarre meals could go very long and differ from park to park. Yet, the main objective is alike: showing how Instagramable their park and attracting more people to visit and buy those goods. Simple.
Foodstagram Rise to Prominence
With the rise of social media, “sharing” food on those platforms gets more and more common.
The most-used food-related hashtag, #foodporn, appears along 209 million posts on Instagram. Pizza, the star of all food on Instagram, is tagged around 35 million times, more than the total tags of Kim Kardashian and Beyoncé combined.
A survey conducted in 2016 in the UK affirmed the trend. 1 out of 5 Britons uploaded food-related content on their social media in the month preceding the survey.
the Supply Side
Given the hype and buzz surrounding the culinary experience on social media, and Instagram especially, no wonder the restaurant owners and chefs are deciding things through the “Instagram perspective.”
Many newly-opened eateries these days are designed to look chic when photographed by customers. The restaurant’s spaces must be bright, walls full of poetic quotes or colorful mural, and some touch of neon lighting.
And of course, the dishes must look great. It must pass the judgment of social media users. Else, it won’t receive much attention on the net. Even if the food itself is savory.
Food Influencers
The rising tide of the foodstagram is also featured by the surge of food influencers. To classify them under the same roof would be a dire mistake though. Their vehement passion for uploading food photos might be the only thing they shared among them. Otherwise, they can’t be more different, be it their background, type of food their post, and their motivation.
Some of the most prominent food influencers are notable chefs. The celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, for example, has 7 millions more followers on both his Twitter and Instagram account. He is famous on Twitter particularly for his engagement in vilifying his followers’ food presentation.
Having a professional chef as an influencer is not surprising, given their expertise in the culinary world. But you don’t necessarily have to work behind the kitchen to be a food influencer.
The winner of The Guardian Observer Food Monthly October 2019 award, Miguel Barclay, is not a chef, though he is as passionate about cooking as a chef could be. Through his Instagram account, Miguel shares easy yet tasteful recipe to be made with a £1 budget. His easy-to-make recipe aspires many to start cooking on their own; many who before believed they aren’t talented enough to prepare dishes.
Some food influencers are healthy eating advocators. Luise Vindahl, an aspiring healthy eating influencer amassing 2 million more followers on her @luisegreenkitchenstories Instagram account, shares recipes of healthy yet photogenic dishes to her followers.
Other food influencers don’t necessarily share this passion for healthy eating. Justin Schuble, with almost 500,000 followers on Instagram, gains his fame from posting mouth-watering sweets and foods.
Our Take
Customers nowadays don’t simply go to a restaurant for food. Instead, they long also for the chic restaurant environment and Instagrammable dishes to be capture and upload.
The foodstagram trend will continue to rise. And so does the food influencers trend. For followers, they are the inspiration for the next culinary quest. And brands could use those influencers to promote their own restaurant.
However, both brands and influencers must be careful of the authenticity of the influencers’ message. Cause, just like influencer marketing in other fields, followers are tired of pure advertorial messages from brands.
After all, they follow the influencers for inspiration, not endorsement.
Happy eating!
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