With the continued popularity of specialist food boxes from the likes of Abel & Cole, Mindful Chef and your local take-away via Deliveroo, we hardly need to lift a finger to get our hands on our favourite food and drink. This emphasis on convenience has not dented our love of cooking. In fact since the multiple lockdowns this past year we have grown to love our kitchens again. We’ve been learning to make something new or just cooking more from scratch.
The first thing to do when planning how to market your food or drink product is to research your market and find out who might buy your product. This is no different from marketing any other type of product, except that your unique selling proposition (or USP) will mostly be based on criteria unique to food. This could range from: satisfying those on a vegan diet, offering nut-free alternatives to popular recipes or supplying a hard-to-find ingredient for a particular cuisine.
Here are 8 key things you should do to help sell your food product online:
Even the everyday consumer wants to know more about exactly what’s in your food product. The UK public is more aware than ever of food intolerances, special diets and lifestyle ingredients. So, whether yours is a sugar-free Millionaire’s Shortbread or a vegan-friendly sauce, find out who is likely to buy from you. Are you catering to a niche market or are you appealing to a broader, mainstream base of customers? Either way, you need to have a clear picture of what your customers are like – age, gender, income, interests, employment and habits. If you can pin it down to 3 typical customer personas, you’ll use these to plan your marketing.
Get yourself a food license before you start selling to the public – it’s the law. Just complete the form from your local authority to register your food business. It’s very easy and only takes a hour or so of your time. Being a registered food company lets your customers know that you take all aspects of food handling seriously and this will help to build trust with them.
You’ll be inspected sometime soon after the license is issued and again thereafter, every year or sometimes more frequently depending on the exact nature of your food business. This includes a Food Hygiene Assessment, so it’s probably worth obtaining a certificate or two in Food Safety.
When developing your recipes and sourcing ingredients, look for flavour trends and ingredient combinations. Read through existing menus from restaurants, take-aways and cafe chains; cast your eye over the supermarket shelves; get a copy of ‘The Grocer’ magazine and ‘Retail Week’, read whatever you can and whichever most fits with your target customer.
Armed with a little bit of background knowledge, you can then begin to build a range of tried and tested recipes/products to start with. If you are going for a niche market, then tapping into specialist tastes and food choices is essential – you may also be able to experiment sooner with unusual recipes. But one thing is for sure, if most people prefer mint flavour over orange for your particular product then start off with mint.
Take care to create appealing and protective packaging. There is nothing worse than receiving a jar that’s leaked in the post and the seal broken. Also think about the name of your product and research any common words which may be distasteful or inappropriate in another language.
Use close-up Macro photography as well as lifestyle shots to reveal every detail of your product. Get the product out of the packet; take the serving suggestion a step further and make a proper meal. Lifestyle compositions are commonly used in advertising. 'Flat-lay', or compositions shot directly above are very shareable on social media. For websites, more variety of shots are required.
Adding video content to your website will help your customer really see the product in detail and to imagine themselves using and/or consuming the product. There’s nothing like the droplets on the outside of a glass and bubbles in a cool drink to build up a thirst. Once you have some video footage you can use small snippets for Pinterest, Instagram TV, TikTok and on Amazon marketplace. These will all contribute to you selling more of your food product online.
Clear and accurate labelling of ingredients and allergens is legal obligation. Calorific content is also necessary on many items, particular packaged, jarred and bottled items. Visit the Food Standards Agency for e-learning on food labelling. The same information on the physical product must also be included on your website in the product description, as follows:
Customers can then make an informed decision prior to purchase. You can also include FAQs on the page and encourage customer reviews to provide an even fuller picture of your product.
Now the customer has made a purchase through your website the interaction shouldn't stop there. Make use of the parcel box to include relevant information such as recipe cards, special offers and pre-launch information of new lines. Most retailers also use this as an opportunity to sign up new subscribers for regular emails as well as referral incentives such as a perentage off when a customer recommends a friend.
Once the post-purchase communication is complete i.e.: online receipt, order tracking, confirmation of safe delivery, etc. you can consider getting in touch with the customer a few weeks later to ask for feedback on their order. Some e-commerce software enables this type of email to be sent automatically - you might want to think about personalisation of this message.
Social media gives your customers a chance to engage with you and others who like your product. But how do you encourage this involvement? It's true that regular, consistent posting of content helps. But finding out what your customers like to share and talk about should guide your interactions.
Another stragegy to encourage your audience to take an interest in your food brand, is to callborate with a complementary business or individual to start a conversation. This could take the form of a competition, a poll or other activity.
The meteoric rise of the meal subscription box during the pandemic was perhaps no surprise to many of us, but will this trend continue once the restaurants and eateries are fully open? Certainly, if your product can be classed as a gifting item or is hard to find elsewhere, then the subscription model could be good for your business. With the right marketing you can build a steady stream of loyal subscribers and for a start-up this provides some predictable cash-flow.
Speciality and fine foods are no longer the preserve of the rich and famous. Society has moved on from gout-inducing foods to more health-focused consumption. The traditional luxury foods such as Foie gras, caviar and oysters are not fulfilling the needs of vegetarians, vegans and flexitarians. Something deeper is needed for 21st century consumers.
According to a recent Mintel report on Global Food and Drink Trends for 2021, “Consumers understanding of community has been strengthened by COVID-19.” This need to belong is a gift for artisan food producers and retailers. You can begin generating content that appeals to the everyday interests and motivations of these new breed of customers.
Food is such a shareable topic and social media platforms such as Instagram, Tik Tok and YouTube, are perfect places for this to naturally occur. You can target niche food consumers with enticing visuals, encouraging a dialogue and from there build your foodie 'clan'.
It will take time to create a following that transcends your food products and takes on a life of its own. The kindred spirits whom you have brought together will hopefully continue to grow as long as you keep the conversation relevant and engaging.
