In recent conversations with our agency’s clients, more food and beverage communicators are embracing artificial intelligence technology, specialized influencer marketing and increasingly sophisticated social media content to increase brand authenticity and improve the overall consumer experience.

Artificial Intelligence? Wine Not?

For many food and beverage artisans, the environment in which a product is grown or made is a vital part of the overall product experience. Quintessa is a renowned 280-acre wine estate in Rutherford, one of Napa Valley’s most distinctive properties, with five soil types, hills, valleys, a lake and a river. The diverse estate inspires the impressive wines for which it is known.

“At Quintessa, our strongest asset and differentiator is the world-class estate from which we source our wine,” said Leslie Sullivan, DWS, Napa Estates Director of Huneeus Vintners, who manages communications for Quintessa.

“For those consumers and trade who are able to visit the estate, we are able to build ambassadors; however, our reach is limited. As a result, we’ve begun to better utilize technology to connect with our consumers and trade. For instance, we’ve used video, drone footage, 360 video and virtual reality to allow our consumers and trade to engage with our property. While nothing compares to the full sensory experience of enjoying a glass of Quintessa at the estate, we are able to better express and share what Quintessa is all about.”

Photos courtesy of Quintessa Instagram

Community, Convenience, Quality

With a 68-year heritage and nearly 12,000 locations worldwide, Dunkin’ Donuts continues to evolve while keeping its focus on fast, friendly service and community involvement.

According to Public Relations Senior Manager, Justin Drake, Dunkin’ Donuts maintains its focus on fast, friendly service while delivering innovations that today’s consumer expects from sophisticated food brands:

“As Dunkin’ Donuts continues to grow and evolve, remaining authentic to the core of our brand is very important. Dunkin’ Donuts was founded as a brand offering high-quality coffee and baked goods to our guests, all served with fast, friendly service and at a great value, and we remain true to this mission to this day.”

“We’ve expanded our coffee and espresso menu in recent years to include options like Cold Brew, Rainforest Alliance Certified Dark Roast Coffee, and Macchiatos. These menu additions remain true to our 68-year heritage as a coffee company, while also staying on trend in terms of what customers are looking for today from a coffee brand. We’ve launched On-the-Go Mobile Ordering for DD Perks members through the Dunkin’ Donuts mobile app, where guests can place their order in advance and then speed past the line in-store to pick-up their order. This innovation remains true to our mission of offering fast service and unparalleled convenience to our guests.”

Photos courtesy of Dunkin’ Donuts Instagram

Community giving is a core value for Dunkin’ Donuts that empowers franchisees around the world to give back and strengthen their own communities:

Continued Drake, “At Dunkin’, we feel fortunate that our restaurants are part of the fabric of so many communities and neighborhoods around the globe, and our franchisees value the role they can play in strengthening their communities. Our franchisees donate millions of dollars annually to local non-profits. Additionally, our organization collectively supports our national foundation, The Joy in Childhood Foundation, which is dedicated to bringing joy to sick and hungry children.”

Consumers Seek, Expect Info Online

For family-owned poultry producer Foster Farms, a robust social media presence is required to address the questions and provide the reassurance that consumers actively seek.

“Increasingly consumers are asking more and more questions about where their food comes from and how it is made,” said Ira Brill, Foster Farms’ Director of Communications. “Our commitment to product quality is at the heart of authenticity, and Foster Farms is one of the west’s true authentic brands — having been founded in 1939 on the values of locally grown, and continuing as a family owned company today — has continuously evolved to include digital and social media tools to enhance our consumer engagement and contribute substantively to consumer conversation. From engaging influencer programs, to enticing recipes and social media content, Foster Farms aims to be a part of the discussion at every touchpoint.”

Photos courtesy of Foster Farms Instagram

Building Authenticity with Influencers

Social marketing strategists at Collectively understand how deeply consumer brands and consumers value authenticity.

“Influencer marketing works best when creators are empowered to make decisions about how best to present a brand story to their audiences,” said Natalie Silverstein, Collectively Vice President of Brand, Marketing and Culture.

“Creators are truly the experts in understanding what resonates with the people they’re in dialogue with every day. Authenticity shines through when an influencer actually believes in the product and has integrated it into their content in a way that feels almost effortless.”

Photos courtesy of Collectively Instagram

“For our food and beverage clients, we’re bringing opportunities to a wider set of creators beyond the more expected food and cooking influencers — lifestyle, health and wellness, parenting, photography, and more.”

Silverstein agrees authenticity is a higher priority now for food and beverage brands: “‘Authenticity’ has been the most-used buzzword of the industry for quite some time, and it continues to be a key goal for most brands. We believe this is a direct result of the broader cultural transformation around trust in institutions and other traditional gatekeepers of information.”

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• Minh Tsai – Founder and CEO of Hodo Soy
• Bob Sanchez – Owner of Casa Sanchez Foods
• Neka Pasquale – Founder and President of Urban Remedy, Inc.
• Dinsh Guzdar – President of f’real foods
• David Lee – COO and CFO of Impossible Foods

While these companies specialize in a range of products – f’real foods makes milkshakes; Urban Remedy produces raw meals and cold-pressed juices – the panelists shared similar takeaways and learnings from running their businesses. Among them:

• Transparency, authenticity and reinvestment in the community are key among millennials and must infiltrate every aspect of your brand to effectively engage this audience. A recent survey conducted by Watershed looked at what a brand needs to do to embody authenticity, and found that millennials want clean ingredients, great taste, transparency, and a brand that’s true to its mission and culturally accurate.

• Health and wellness are redefining indulgence. Consumers are increasingly opting for healthier, more nutritious foods, however they still want to indulge in the opposite. This is one of the reasons why f’real foods is supplementing its milkshake business with healthier smoothies and testing flavors like cucumber, pear and kale.

• High-end, accessible food products are on the rise, especially among millennials, who care most about what they put in their bodies.

• Know your audience. A product that works in one market may fail in another. This was the case with the aforementioned cucumber, pear and kale smoothie, which was successful in the Bay Area, but not as popular in Pennsylvania.

• Know who the trendsetters are. To understand your audience, it’s critical to understand where and how they are getting their information, and who or what is influencing them.

• Food and beverage companies can benefit from an omnichannel POS model, which is largely untapped in the food and beverage industry in part because “taste and feel” at the time of purchase still dominate decision-making.

• Startup growing pains. Commitment to a strong mission and organizational culture are sure to help startups grow without endangering what made the brand succeed in the first place.

• Green, clean and safe. The trend toward green, local and organic products now includes a renewed emphasis on food safety and source tractability.

• Use loyalists to tell your story. The most complex marketing strategy can be dwarfed by the power of loyal fans armed with cellphones. Leverage these loyalists to promote your brand by equipping them with visual, shareable content.

• Trend or fad? By becoming industry insiders and following the influencers in their space, brands are able to differentiate between lasting trends and short-lived enthusiasm.

View our TL;DR Listicle here:

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