Masoko Media Republica’s 44th edition visited the trending food awareness influencers and strategies that CPGs can use to stay relevant and fight back. In this edition, we highlight the food awareness influencers on the opposing side of those featured in edition 44 and once again remind ourselves of how we can win with our CPG brands.
The good news is that there is a bevy of influencers who applaud conventional eating habits like eating a slab of red meat or a donut. Many do so to provide more healthy ways of getting nutritional elements like protein and having a balanced diet.
Others do so as a way of simply balancing the scale to sensibility beyond fad diets and food restrictions that may or may not save us all from the brink of self-inflicted death by poor eating habits.
The good news is the food gods have shown a balance to help tip the scale between eating right and eating the good stuff that tastes good, but that we all think is so bad for us.
For example, influencer and author thefitnesschef_ or Graeme Tomlinson enlightens his audience of 1.6 million followers with light-hearted musings and comparisons about foods that have been recently demonized with its opposing so-called healthy alternatives and in most cases shows how they are not all that different.
"The sugar in Coca-Cola metabolizes exactly the same as the sugar in a pear, or any food. The pear is more beneficial to health because of the micronutrients and fiber it contains, not the type of sugar.”
Graeme Tomlinson thefitnesschef_
In addition, Tomlinson shared,
“A Big Mac contains 493 calories, which is less than the 540 calories in 70g of mayonnaise.
Eating white rice will create a bigger blood glucose spike than eating brown rice. But blood sugar spikes occur no matter what you eat, and aren’t an issue unless you’re diabetic. Besides, including protein and fiber with foods that cause higher elevations blood sugar will reduce these elevations anyway.
While these facts may be interesting, they don’t tell you the whole story about each food or drink or its individual relevance to your goal.
Anyone who demonizes individual foods based on one aspect of it doesn’t understand there are many other aspects to consider, such as how often you eat it and what else you eat over long periods of time.”
Fitness coaches with British accents seem to be all the rage in this space as james.middleton_ provides advice on avoiding the diet rollercoaster by focusing on consistency and a balanced diet.
Sticking with British fitness coaches, there is nathangjoseph who provides his advice in one posting:
“Regardless if you’re eating what you label as “healthy” or “unhealthy” foods, they all have calories.
If you eat more calories than you burn in a day, you will gain weight.
Eating healthy doesn’t mean weight loss.
The easiest way to stick to a fat loss journey is by eating as much food as possible within your calorie target.
Keeping you fuller for longer so you’re not thinking about food and how hard losing weight is 24/7.”
The good news is all is not lost, especially when we live in a world of so many choices. Eating a balanced diet can be like balanced social media consumption sending your algorithm to the shreds.
One more time, here are the strategies for fighting back and staying relevant from edition #44:
Strategies for Fighting Back
So what can a brand that finds itself under attack do? Below you will find “this that gas, you better know” in the form of six strategies to manage food awareness and food influencer fatigue.
First and foremost get to the facts. Be proactive in educating your consumers about your ingredients. Transparency and education are key. Regardless of the brands, there is usually a bevy of data available about said brands. Brands need to make sure they have all the supporting data and science behind their reason for being and share it by demystifying why your brand’s ingredient list has a reason for being.
Research shows that 77% of consumers buy from brands that share their values.
Engage respectfully and don't ignore criticisms. Work with your social media listening agency or media stack to engage with influencers and consumers in a respectful, fact-based manner. Provide scientific evidence to support your ingredient choices when possible.
Double down on your brand story. Every brand has equity and now is not the time to lose it. An excellent place to start is your brand story. Revisit, refine, and make it a priority to your consumers why you exist. Your Brand's purpose is legit.
Highlight positive attributes by shifting focus to the positive aspects of your products. Emphasize nutritional benefits, sustainability efforts, or unique selling points that set your brand apart.
Consider reformulation If certain ingredients are consistently under fire, evaluate the possibility of reformulating with alternatives. While there is a cost, it beats continuing to lose market share. Reformulation and reinvention provide responsiveness to consumer concerns.
For example, San Diego natural foods grocer, Jimbos shared on their Instagram that they are beginning to remove “seed oils” from their prepared foods as a response to customer requests.
Recruit and curate brand evangelism and advocacy by cultivating relationships with nutrition experts, scientists, or influencers who can speak knowledgeably about food science and ingredients. Next, make sure their voices are heard by applying and sharing what they say to your brand’s most relevant social media platforms. Their voices can help balance the narrative.
Overall it is a chaotic world out there. The good news for brands is we still have our fundamentals. The market does change over time. For example, social or cultural behaviors evolve, and consumers’ needs and desires change too, but fundamentals don’t. Stick to the fundamentals, amp up your social listening stack and you and your brand will continue to crush it.