Marketing to the Foodie

Earlier this month, industry leaders met during the U.S. Soy Global Trade Exchange to discuss the foodie phenomenon, and how to market to this consumer. The keynote speaker defined a foodie as “someone who considers food a key hobby and is socially active in discussing those subjects.” Foodies had been the subject of much speculation, but until recently, there had never been any research done on their spending habits. After compiling and analyzing this data, there were some valuable insights shared at the conference.

Foodies don’t eat out as often as industry leaders had expected. They would rather have high quality food less often, especially because of the price associated with higher quality food. So what matters to them and how to you convey it?

The biggest takeaway was the importance of telling stories. Your website and social media presence are vital for that purpose. These consumers want to know where their food comes from and how it was produced. This is one of the reasons they are shopping at farmers markets in growing numbers. Industry leaders thought foodie phenomenon would peak, but it continues to grow, and these consumers are already raising the next generation of foodie.

The study measured foodies’ habits across six countries. For more information, and to listen to an interview from the conference, see the full article.