Food & Beverage Brands Who Adapted to Covid-19
COVID-19 has changed our business landscape entirely. Global lockdowns have forced brands to adapt to an online business model whether they were ready or not. The year has been sink or swim, with brands around the world rethinking their entire business model and product offering. And many sank. Even British clothing giant Primark dropped from 650 million sales per month to 0 in April. All because they don’t have an online presence. Other casualties included Warehouse, Debenhams, Laura Ashley and Cath Kidston.
But there were many success stories too. And the sector that surprised everyone the most was food & beverage. In this article, we will be looking at food & beverage brands who adapted to covid-19. And, as we are a Belgian marketing agency, we are shining some light on our very own Belgian food & beverage brands. How did these brands adapt to the covid19 business landscape? How was their marketing innovative and what can we learn from them?
Photo by Kate Remmer on Unsplash
But First The Stats
· Food and online shopping rose, and alcohol sales also jumped. But clothes sales tumbled by 34%
· Online shopping as a proportion of all retail reached a record high of 22%
· Demand for fruits known for their high vitamin C content are up 60% year-over-year
· UK off-licences, saw sales rise 31.4% in volume terms, although with most drinkers buying from supermarkets, they only contribute less than 1% of alcohol sales.
· Food sales rose a record 11% as households stocked up and restaurants closed
· Reports show that dry, canned and frozen foods have moved into the top of the list as consumers stocked up.
· In France, sales of flour surged by 160% year-over-year in March, ranking it among emergency essentials such as rice (160%), pasta (200%) and soap (220%).
Food & Beverage Trends
As you can see from the stats above, consumer behaviour changed fast during covid-19 and that change is still happening. First came panic buying of dried goods, pasta (and toilet paper!) Then came the resurgence of home baking which we are seeing in online and social media trends:
While some practiced austerity, we also saw an increase in the purchases of nostalgic and indulgent foods. These included chocolates, wines and beers. And of course, all this stress, lockdown chomping and lack of exercise, led to an influx of social media posts about weight gain:
It’s likely that the next food trends will centre around healthy eating bars, shakes and weight loss plans. But not quite yet. Promoting weight loss products will not go down well with consumers at such a stressful time. Brands will likely begin by launching products with added functionality such as immunity support or calorie counted portions.
So, which brands adapted smartly to this fast-paced food evolution? Let’s look:
#1 FOODMAKER
“Monday, April 20th. I walk into the office, grab my first cup of coffee and quickly head over our analytics dashboard. ‘Hot damn, THAT’s how many Vedge bags we’ve sold?’, I yell out asking for confirmation”.
This is an excerpt from Sasha Sadri’s LinkedIn article entitled How crisis fast-tracked what we were meant to do.
Sasha is Digital Growth Strategist, Innovation Ambassador & Customer-Centricity at Foodmaker. Foodmaker, based in Belgium, makes fresh, healthy and tasty food, in a sustainable way without added flavourings, preservatives and sugars. At Moondust, we are big fans, so let’s look at what they got right…
What They Got Right
· Firstly, they quickly pivoted from restaurants (currently closed) to meal box delivery. And they did it in a clever way. Their online offering makes it extremely easy for consumers to choose meals based on their circumstances. Single, couple, family… they’ve got you covered! Check it out below:
· They updated their web banners in a very charming way to illustrate firstly food hygiene, but also that they are still operating.
· They created a short Facebook video showing how their products are freshly picked, cleaned and packed. Check it out here
· On Twitter they are keen to show behind the scenes photos of their operations. This highlights their cleanliness and high standards.
Their Insta channel is packed full of fun lockdown food tips, cookery demos and info. What we love is that they kept their style fresh, light and modern and adding hygiene masks to random animals gets the point across without being scary.
· Foodmaker clearly advertise upcoming cookery events allowing fans plenty of time to prepare and spread the word.
Marketing Takeaways
Foodmaker sets a high standard for other food & beverage companies to follow. Here are some marketing takeaways.
· Make sure customers know you have pivoted your offering to online through visuals on your website and social media channels.
· Emphasise high standards of food and employee hygiene by showing videos and photos of your operations.
· Keep things light and exciting. Doom and gloom won’t increase your online sales.
· Offer friendly and insightful tips and suggestions on social media
· Make it easy for consumers to select products that fit their needs. Be transparent about what is included and the ingredients in each meal.
#2 BALLS & GLORY
Balls & Glory is a franchised chain of restaurants based in Belgium. They specialise in stoemp (potato/veggies dish) and meatballs. The brand is modern and vibrant but stays true to authentic dishes of the region. This is something echoed throughout their marketing:
So, it’s no surprise that this brand also adapted fast to pandemic conditions.
What They Got Right
· Firstly, they became available for delivery through Deliveroo, Uber eats and other similar services. They also gave consumers the option to pick up their meals as takeaway. This is something heavily emphasised on their social media channels. They show video footage of their meals being packed and delivered via Insta stories:
We also love the packaging #HereToDeliver – very smart!
We love the emphasis on charitable giving especially for care centres and hospitals which have become a focus area during covid19.
· This is followed up with pics of their team delivering the meals to hospital workers.
And even more on Twitter which we love!
Their chef now cooks once a week on Facebook live to teach you how to make their recipes, joined by a few consumers who cook at the same time. We just love this human marketing technique.
Notice the emphasis on inclusivity. This is a brand for singles, couples and families!
The brand also advertises upcoming cookery sessions in the comments section :
Marketing Takeaways
Balls & Glory are a great example of a food & beverage brand that didn’t panic. Or at least, they did not show consumers they were panicking! The brand maintained its fun, fresh, chilled out vibe throughout its marketing.
· By going live you’re showing that you’re fun, authentic and on the same level as consumers. Make a mistake? No worries, it just adds to the fun.
· Keep your posts consistent. Balls & Glory continued to post beautiful food photography and kept their fresh hipster vibe flowing.
· Remind consumers that they can order online and create a desire for your food. Insta stories are perfect for doing this.
· Keep your founders and managers visible. Consumers are looking for reassurance and seeing faces from your organisation create trust and calm.
· Show you haven’t compromised on quality. Consumers are often worried that a delivered product will not be the same standard as one served in a restaurant. Balls & Glory show that this is not the case by photographing and documenting their preparation and packing.
#3 DELHAIZE
Delhaize is a major food retailer in Belgium. As an essential service, their stores are open and they already offered home delivery. However, their communication pivoted smartly during covid19. We were impressed with their content and social media in the past few months and these are some of the highlights.
What They Got Right
· On Facebook they emphasise the importance of home cooked fresh food. Their food photography is stunning and of course clicking Learn More, takes fans into the recipe. You can buy all the ingredients through Delhaize at the touch of a button. So in 3 simple steps you have seen the meal, read the recipe and added the products to your cart. Brilliant!
The brand shares video tips, recipes and live cooking demos on Insta. We love how friendly they are, and also easy to follow!
· The company prepares smart content that emphasises food hygiene. Check out this excerpt from their blog:
This message is reiterated on the brands Linkedin channel with an easy to understand infographic :
The brand also communicates directly with consumers in a friendly and reassuring way.
· Delhaize keeps fans on their toes with social media contests and giveaways. One of the many advantages of digital transformation is the ability to offer discount codes and vouchers to fans:
· We admit we were obsessed with the brand’s Pinterest channel before covid19. So all we can say there is look how beautiful it is! Delhaize continues to show gorgeous, inspirational food photos to their 818k monthly viewers.
· Delhaize has a beautifully crafted YouTube channel and in recent months it has been adding highly relevant content. It’s essential to follow food trends, so showing BBQ tips and an emphasis on easy fresh dishes is following consumer sentiment.
Marketing Takeaways
We know that Delhaize is a huge brand, likely with a large marketing budget but there are some marketing takeaways you can steal for free.
· Focus on great content. Your blog should be updated a minimum of once a week and your information should be direct, reassuring and helpful.
· Make it easy for your consumers to order. Less clicks equal more sales. By enabling consumers to add all the ingredients of a recipe to their cart at once you are saving them the hassle of searching your site for what they need.
· Categorise your content making it easy for different customers to find what they want. For example, singles may want to view quick budget meals whilst families might be looking at BBQ tips or Sunday roasts.
· Use bold infographics and stats to emphasise important covid19 information. This is a lot easier to view than long written posts.
· Use relevant hashtags like #strongertogether #stayhome #staysafe to attract social media fans. You should also use popular food and beverage hashtags. Avoid using #covid19 to promote your products or offers.
Other Mentions
Sadly, we don’t have space to mention everyone but there have been some incredible innovations and marketing transformations within the food and beverage sector. Here are a few more:
· Gott’s Roadside shows how communication is key in letting consumers know about safe takeout and delivery services.
Wagamama UK is showing support for NHS doctors and nurses whilst emphasising that they are open!
· Add beer and wine to your to-go menu. Yummy example from Pi Co Pizza here.
· Build community and increase business by reposting customer reviews. Here’s an example from Crossroads Kitchen that also emphasises hygiene.
· Share Recipes for Favourite Menu Items. Even if you’ve decided to close your kitchen, you can still build awareness and community by sharing a favourite recipe on social media. You can also share the ingredients needed to make fast food options at home. Don’t worry, consumers won’t replace you. But they will think of you rush back when you reopen your doors. Check out Burger King
