Food and beverage marketing has outgrown old playbooks: the social KPIs that now drive growth

Food and beverage marketing has outgrown old playbooks

Food and beverage brands used to win on shelf space, price promos and big awareness spends. Get stocked, get seen, get bought.

That still matters, but it is no longer enough.

Today, food and drink discovery happens on social. Decisions are shaped by creators, communities and culture long before anyone reaches a shelf or taps add to basket. That shift has changed what effective marketing looks like and, crucially, how success should be measured.

Old playbooks focus on reach. Modern growth comes from relevance, trust and repeat signals.

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Why social now sits at the centre of food and drink discovery

For most audiences, food and drink inspiration starts on a screen, not in store.

Recipes, reviews, taste tests and unboxings all live in feeds. A new sauce is discovered through a creator’s dinner reel. A snack goes viral on TikTok. A drink becomes a habit through repeated exposure in Stories.

Social is no longer just awareness. It is where taste is shaped and preferences are formed.

Food and beverage brands performing well on social understand that:

• People buy what feels familiar, not just what is visible
• Repetition builds trust more effectively than one big campaign
• Seeing real people enjoy a product matters more than polished ads

This is why social content needs to be designed for behaviour, not just impressions.

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Engagement is not the KPI, intent is

Likes are easy. They are fast, passive and often meaningless on their own.

In food and beverage marketing, the signals that matter most are the ones tied to action and intent. Saves, shares, clicks and sentiment tell a far clearer story about whether content is influencing real behaviour.

A save usually signals future action. A recipe saved is a recipe planned. A product saved is a product being considered on the next shop. These are moments where content moves from entertainment into decision making.

Shares signal influence. When content is shared into group chats, family threads or recipe collections, it becomes part of a wider conversation. That is where recommendations are tested and choices are validated.

Clicks matter too, especially as social commerce becomes more embedded. Click throughs to TikTok Shop, Instagram product pages or retailer sites show when interest tips into exploration. These actions sit further down the funnel and should be measured accordingly.

Sentiment is just as important. Comments reveal hesitation, excitement, objections and appetite. Positive engagement with negative sentiment still signals friction. Understanding how people feel is as important as understanding what they do.

Strong food and drink content tends to:

• Get saved for later cooking, shopping or trying
• Get shared into group chats and collections
• Drive meaningful clicks to social commerce features
• Generate comments that reveal real audience intent

If content is only collecting likes, it is unlikely to be shaping purchase behaviour. The brands that grow are the ones tracking intent signals, not vanity metrics, and using them to refine creative, partnerships and media decisions.

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Trusted voices drive trial faster than brand messaging

Food and beverage is built on trust. Taste is subjective, and people want reassurance before trying something new.

Creators, chefs, food reviewers and everyday consumers provide that reassurance. Their content feels credible because it is lived, not staged.

When trusted voices feature a product consistently, it normalises it. It moves the brand from unfamiliar to familiar, and from familiar to tried.

Trusted voices help brands:

• Reduce friction around first purchase
• Show real world usage, not just claims
• Build belief through repetition
• Reach niche audiences with relevance

Influence in food and drink is not about hype. It is about credibility over time.

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Designing content that actually performs for food and drink brands

Food content is everywhere. What cuts through is content that feels useful, repeatable and real.

High performing food and beverage content usually:

• Shows the product in context, not isolation
• Focuses on ease, taste or routine fit
• Feels natural to save for later
• Works without sound or heavy explanation

This is why short form video, recipes, hacks and everyday moments outperform high gloss ads. They fit naturally into how people use social.

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Rethinking success metrics for food and beverage marketing

If social is shaping behaviour, KPIs need to reflect that role.

Reach tells you how many people saw something. Saves and shares tell you how many people cared enough to keep it or pass it on.

For food and beverage brands, the most useful signals often include:

• Save rate as a proxy for intent
• Share rate as a proxy for recommendation
• Comment quality as insight into barriers or excitement
• Repeat exposure across creators and formats

These metrics give a clearer picture of whether a brand is building momentum or just visibility.

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Loyalty is built before the first purchase

One of the biggest shifts in food and beverage marketing is where loyalty starts.

It no longer begins after purchase. It starts in feeds, through repeated exposure to trusted voices and familiar formats. By the time someone buys, the brand already feels known.

Social content that supports loyalty:

• Shows consistency in messaging and usage
• Appears across different creators and occasions
• Reinforces the same benefits in different ways
• Becomes part of routine content consumption

When brands show up consistently, they become the default choice.

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The new food and beverage playbook

Food and beverage marketing has moved beyond old rules built on reach alone.

Growth now comes from understanding how people actually discover, save, share and decide. Social is not just a channel, it is the decision layer.

Brands that win are the ones paying attention to the signals that matter, building trust through credible voices and creating content people want to keep.