How Can Food Businesses Use Influencers to Increase Brand Awareness?

If you run a food business today, you already know the market is crowded. Whether you sell snacks, meal kits, spices, beverages, baked goods, frozen meals, or a mix of categories, there is always someone offering something similar, often with a larger budget and a louder presence. The real challenge is not creating a good product, but getting people to notice it.

That’s where influencers come in. Not celebrity figures who charge more than a typical monthly budget, but real people who genuinely care about food. These are the ones who talk about food because they enjoy it and are happy to open a product on camera and share an honest reaction.

If you are looking for one of the best marketing strategy for food business today, influencer partnerships rank high on the list. Not because they are trendy, but because they work when handled thoughtfully.

And yes, this works for small brands too. In many cases, it works even better, because smaller brands often come across as more genuine in influencer content.

Why Influencers Work for Food Brands

Food is one of the easiest products to showcase online. You taste it with your eyes and imagine the flavor before you ever try it. So when someone you already follow takes a bite of something new, your brain naturally wants to know if it’s worth trying.

This is why influencers can help market food products without forcing ads in front of people. A good creator has built trust with their audience. When they genuinely enjoy something, people pay attention. And unlike traditional advertising, influencer content feels like part of a normal feed, not a billboard pushed in someone’s face.

From what we’ve seen, three things make influencers effective for food brands:

• They make your product feel real, not staged. 

• They show how it fits into everyday life.

 • They help people imagine the flavor, texture, and overall experience.

You can’t achieve that with plain text ads or a single image on your website.

Start Small, Not Big

A common mistake food businesses make is jumping straight to creators with large followings. These accounts may look impressive, but their engagement is not always strong. Smaller creators, typically those with 5,000 to 50,000 followers, often perform better because their audiences genuinely pay attention.

These creators reply to comments, share personal stories, and sound like real people rather than brand spokespeople. As a result, their followers tend to trust their recommendations.

In many cases, you will see more conversions from working with several smaller creators than from partnering with one large account.

Pick Influencers Who Fit Your Product Naturally

This part matters more than any number on the screen. If the influencer doesn’t look like someone who would genuinely eat your product, the content will feel off.

If you sell:

• Protein snacks → fitness influencers, hikers, lifestyle parents

 • Spices or sauces → home cooks, recipe creators 

• Vegan products → vegan creators

 • Sweets → dessert reviewers, café explorers

Match the person to the product, not the follower count.

When you find the right fit, the content almost creates itself. They already know how to talk about food, and they know how to make people hungry.

Want help choosing influencers who actually fit your brand and drive results?

Find the Right Creators

Give Them Freedom (but With Clear Direction)

Some food businesses try to control every line an influencer says and every bite they take. That’s a fast way to ruin what could have been great content. Influencers know how to speak to their audience and understand what works on their page.

That said, some guidance is still important, such as:

• Key flavor or product benefit 

• Where the product is available • What makes it different

 • How you expect it to be used

Once those points are clear, step back and let them create.

People can spot scripted content from a mile away, and it quickly erodes trust.

Focus on Repeat Collaborations

The real power of influencer marketing comes from repeated exposure. One post creates curiosity. The second builds awareness. The third establishes credibility.

We often advise food brands to work with creators long-term when content performs well. This helps your brand feel like part of their lifestyle rather than a one-time mention.

You also get better content over time because the influencer already understands what they like about your product.

Use Influencer Content in Your Own Marketing

We’ve seen food businesses pay for influencer content and then leave it sitting on the creator’s page indefinitely. That’s missed value.

If you have usage rights, you should repurpose that content:

• On your website

 • In paid ads 

• On your packaging

 • In email campaigns 

• Across your social media channels

Influencer videos often outperform brand-created videos in ads. They don’t feel overly polished, which makes them feel more real. And for food products, authenticity matters more than anything.

 real. And for food products, authenticity matters more than anything.

Track What Actually Works

Most businesses focus on likes and comments. Those metrics are useful, but they don’t tell the full story. The indicators that matter more include:

• The number of people asking about price or availability 

• Click-throughs to your website

 • Increases in branded search 

• Sales increases within 24–48 hours

The more consistently you track results, the easier it becomes to choose the right influencers for future campaigns.

In many cases, smaller creators drive more conversions than larger ones. Sometimes product reviews perform better than recipes. Other times, lifestyle content outperforms studio-style posts.

You only know what works once you measure it.

Where Seven Claves Fits In

If you want structured support instead of guessing your way through influencer marketing, Seven Claves can help. We work with food brands to identify creators that truly match their style, position products effectively, and avoid spending on influencers who look good on paper but fail to drive results.

We’ve seen what works in real campaigns and what falls flat. Our role is to help you build a focused strategy so influencer content supports a strong food marketing approach, rather than becoming a one-off experiment.

Conclusion: Influencers Can Push Your Food Brand Further

Using influencers isn’t magic, but when done correctly, it becomes one of the simplest and most effective ways to market your food product and build strong brand awareness.

Success usually comes down to a few key actions:

• Choose creators who genuinely fit your product • Start with smaller influencers • Allow creative freedom • Reuse content across your marketing channels • Track results and repeat what works

Food brands grow fastest when people see real individuals enjoying the product. Influencers make that possible at scale, in a way traditional advertising simply cannot replicate.

Ready to build a smarter influencer plan that supports real growth for your food brand?

Start Your Strategy

FAQs

1. How do I choose the right influencers for my food brand?

Look for creators who already enjoy similar products and have an audience that matches your target buyer.

2. Do small influencers actually bring results?

Yes. Small and mid-tier influencers often deliver higher engagement and stronger conversions than celebrity accounts.

3. How many influencer posts do I need for brand awareness?

A series of posts from a few creators works better than one big splash. Repetition builds recognition.

4. Is influencer marketing expensive for food businesses?

It doesn’t have to be. You can start small, test creators, repurpose content, and scale only when you see traction.