10 Critical Marketing Trends Shaping the Food and Beverage Industry in 2022

That scale and growth are exciting, but it also means food and beverage businesses face more market competition. Determining how to stand out and scale sustainable is challenging.

Staying on top of the latest trends can help you determine what your customers value right now. Here are the ten most important marketing trends shaping the food and beverage industry in 2022!

Food and Beverage Industry Overview

The U.S. food and beverage industry has seen several rising trends in the past few years, and those themes will continue to be important in 2022.

Sustainability

According to IBM, >nearly 6 in 10 consumers say they’re willing to change their buying habits to reduce their impact on the environment. This growth impacts the food consumers prefer to buy, its packaging, and even the practices used to grow, process, and deliver it.

Healthy And Convenient Food

In the IBM study above, 77% of consumers also said they would pay a premium for products that provide greater health and wellness benefits. But consumers don’t want to spend hours crafting a single salad – they’re very interested in healthy options they can pick up when they’re on the go and busy.

Plant-Based Products

The growth of plant-based products also reflects the trend towards more sustainable and healthy products. Consumers are increasingly experimenting with plant-based products as the explosion of oat-milk lattes in coffee shops across the country shows.

No- And Low-Alcohol Drinks

The “sober-curious” consumer is growing across the US. No/low alcohol options saw an impressive >30% increase in volume consumption in 2020, despite the pandemic. And this growth shows no signs of abating, offering opportunities for businesses who create and/or serve these options.

New Flavor Exploration

American consumers are increasingly interested in exploring the world through their taste buds. That means adding new flavors to old favorites, like potato chips, and introducing exciting new cuisine fusions. Creating memorable flavors from around the world can revive interest in food products that have lost some of their shine.

Food and Beverage Marketing Overview

Food and beverage marketing campaigns can vary significantly between industries, but the essentials remain the same. Most F&B products are essentials, not luxuries, so your job is to convince consumers they need your brand.

Most food and beverage marketing ideas should focus on:

10 Important Marketing Trends Shaping the Food and Beverage Industry in 2022

Your 2022 food and beverage marketing strategy should consider these ten trends so your business stays on top of what consumers want this year.

1. Paid And Organic Social Media

Social media is a powerful growth engine for most businesses, but it’s especially essential for food and beverage businesses. Your potential customers want to see your products, your restaurant, and everything else you offer on social media channels like Instagram and TikTok.

Showing beautiful photos and videos of your products, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and your sustainability and health commitments will help bring in new customers.

You should put your efforts towards organic content, but it can be challenging to get that seen by the right people these days. Supplementing with paid ads helps to target your ideal audience and drive sales.

2. Paid Search/SEM

Paid search ads are becoming as vital as paid social media posts, especially if your business is new or you’re just starting to build an online presence. You can pay to appear at the top of search results when someone in your area searches for “best brunch in the Bay Area,” or whatever term applies to your business.

You should also invest effort into your search engine marketing (SEM) strategy. In time, your website will appear at the top of search engine results pages without paying for ads. Consumers rely on search engines to find the food and beverage products and services they need, so you need to be sure they can find you there.

3. Email Marketing And SMS

Email marketing is an incredibly effective way to gain customers. And SMS campaigns are growing in popularity as well. Both offer a way to communicate directly with your prospects and current customers. You can use emails and SMS to tell your customers about new products, special offers, events, and more.

Of course, you must gather email addresses and phone numbers to make these campaigns work. A popup on your website offering a discount or something of value in exchange for a number or email is often quite effective.

4. Blogging

Many food and beverage businesses don’t have a blog on their website because they’re not sure what to write about. But blogs are key to getting higher in search engine results and can help your prospects and customers develop a relationship with your business.

You can write blogs about how you came up with your products, stories of your business’s origin, info about your staff members and leadership, and relevant topics for your industry. For example, a local winery could write about their winemaking process, share behind-the-scenes glimpses of an event, and introduce the head winemaker on their blog.

5. YouTube Vlogging And Tutorials

The same content on your blog can also make for a great vlog (video blog). YouTube is not just a site for videos – it’s a massive search engine. It can be especially effective to share tutorials about your products with a broad audience. If you make organic peanut butter, for example, you could create video tutorials on making various delicious cookies using peanut butter.