Healthy Food Product Marketing
Healthy foods are in, and bad foods are out!
Social media marketing is a powerful tool that makes nutrition education much more accessible. It can also be a powerful tool to promote eating better and moving more.
“As global diets have changed in recent decades, consumers are craving more health-conscious content. In fact, there are currently 250 million posts on eating clean on Instagram alone. ”
Although humans are biologically primed to seek out calorie-dense food, studies have shown that social media can make us think differently about what we are putting in our bodies. As fast food chains have already perfected marketing their calorie-dense offerings, healthy food brands are thinking of creative (and effective) strategies to make their products appear just as exciting as their unhealthy counterparts.
Social media efforts by health food brands can influence customers and cause them to consider concepts such as nutritional knowledge, body ideals, cooking skills, and costs. As global diets have changed in recent decades, consumers are craving more health-conscious content. In fact, there are currently 250 million posts on eating clean on Instagram alone.
Here are ways that brands are currently marketing their health food products:
Innovation
Just like any food product, brands know that it takes more than aesthetic photos and numerous posts to effectively engage with and convert audiences. Showcasing new recipes and product innovations is a smart way to expand palettes. Essentially, brands are featuring a better way of doing things, proposing alternatives against the norm. For instance, a plant-based meat company informs its followers about the health benefits of its product.
“...it takes more than aesthetic photos and numerous posts to effectively engage with and convert audiences.”
In addition to spotlighting the latest innovations, brands also succeed cross-platform by posting simple recipes and food hacks. In essence, they create content with the addition of adding value to your customers’ lives; this ideology should reflect in the product as well.
Informative
Listing the exact ingredients and nutritional benefits the product contains is a very conscious move that reflects the brand’s promise to contribute to its customers’ healthy lifestyles. This customer base likely already knows the benefits and doesn’t necessarily need to be convinced of a natural lifestyle.
Instead of focusing on the straight sell, brands pivoted to add value to customers’ lives through informative content. Whole Foods, one of the leading health brands on social media, published 60% of its content as recipes with photos.
Some topic ideas to consider include: how foods can help people with certain medical conditions; information on food preparation safety; sourcing of ingredients; quality control. All should elicit reactions and engagements with healthy eaters.
Interactive
“Healthy brands that frequently showcase UGC on their own feed benefit from increased trust and relatability with their customers. ”
People are always looking for a more human connection across their social media feeds. If a health food brand promotes personal experience, it's a great way to stay on their customers' radar. By being highly responsive to comments and mentions, the consumer base will feel valued. Healthy brands that frequently showcase UGC on their own feed benefit from increased trust and relatability with their customers.
Influencers with expertise in health, nutrition, and wellness have built dedicated communities of followers who trust their recommendations, and this is another great way health brands can improve both their following and their respective marketplace at large.
Collaborating with these influencers allows health food brands to tap into their influence and credibility, reaching a highly engaged audience. Additionally, influencers can create compelling content, share their experiences, and educate their followers about the nutritional benefits of the products.
We at Firebelly Marketing are huge health food connoisseurs. If you want to talk about good-for-you sustenance, contact us here.