STRATEGY | 4 minute read
The power of food: How sensory marketing drives consumer desire
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Food has become one of the most powerful tools in modern marketing, allowing brands to tap into emotion, nostalgia, and sensory pleasure in ways that traditional advertising cannot. Food has become a central theme in marketing campaigns, helping brands create brand experiences that leave audiences craving more. From beauty products inspired by desserts to fashion invites featuring actual bread and butter, food references are popping up in unexpected places.
The multisensory power of food in marketing
Branding is about desire. And nothing fuels desire quite like food. This is why more and more brands use food as a visual and emotional shortcut, evoking feelings of indulgence, exclusivity, and pleasure. From glossy magazine spreads featuring jewelry draped over desserts to skincare campaigns that pair products with lush fruit, food helps create a more immersive brand experience.
Beyond visuals, food also engages the imagination. A marketing campaign featuring melting dark chocolate can suggest richness and sensuality, while a crisp apple can symbolize freshness and purity. These associations are carefully curated to align with a brand’s identity, making the experience feel more tangible.
At its core, sensory marketing taps into the way humans process and respond to stimuli. Sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound are powerful triggers for memory and emotion. Food, in particular, is deeply intertwined with our experiences and cultural associations. Here’s why it works:
- Evoking nostalgia: Certain foods remind us of happy moments, childhood memories, or cultural traditions. Nostalgia creates a positive emotional connection with a brand.
- Inducing comfort: Foods like butter, chocolate, and warm bread symbolize indulgence and coziness, making products feel luxurious and satisfying.
- Stimulating desire: Visual and textual cues about food activate the brain’s reward system, making products appear more appealing, especially in digital marketing, where physical interaction isn’t possible.
Rhode
Rhode, the skincare brand founded by Hailey Bieber, frequently incorporates food imagery in its campaigns. Its products often shown dripping in honey, spread over fresh fruit, or melting like soft butter. These visuals don’t just showcase hydration. They evoke sweetness, smoothness, and an almost edible appeal, making the product feel sensorial even through a screen.
Jaquemus
Food references aren’t limited to beauty brands. Jacquemus, the French fashion house, has featured handbags placed inside freshly baked bread, citrus fruits scattered across linen tablecloths, and models biting into juicy watermelon slices. These images reinforce the brand’s Mediterranean-inspired identity, creating a lifestyle that feels effortless, indulgent, and deliciously aspirational.
Skims
Kim Kardashian’s shapewear brand, Skims, has successfully leveraged food marketing to enhance its brand appeal. One standout campaign featured freshly made waffles to promote the softness and comfort of its new fabric. By associating the waffle-knit fabric with the sensory pleasure of eating waffles, Skims positioned its Waffle Collection as an irresistible, must-have loungewear rather than just another product drop.
How to use sensory marketing for your brand
Brands using food imagery in their marketing have unlocked a powerful strategy that blends sensory appeal, emotional resonance, and shareability. Here are two ways your brand can apply these insights.
1. Highlight product benefits
Food is a universal language, capable of creating strong associations and emotions. The sight, smell, and even imagined taste of food create an instant connection, making it an ideal tool for brands looking to highlight product benefits in more creative ways.
Think of the way Rhode named its products, Glazing Milk and Barrier Butter, both evoke texture and indulgence, making skincare feel as satisfying as a warm pastry. Whether it’s creamy textures, glossy finishes, or vibrant colors, high-quality imagery helps consumers associate your products with pleasure and desire. By engaging multiple senses, your brand can turn everyday products into irresistible objects of desire, even in industries far removed from food.
2. Sell the lifestyle
Food is a powerful way to communicate the lifestyle a brand is selling, shaping consumer perception beyond just the product itself. Food offers a powerful way to tap into collective memories, cultural traditions, and everyday rituals, making brands feel more aspirational.
By carefully selecting food imagery that reflects your brand identity, your business can instantly convey its values, attract its target audience, and create an emotional connection that extends beyond the product itself. For example, a wellness or fitness brand might lean into health-conscious food choices like matcha lattes or green smoothies to align with the aspirational lifestyle they promote.
Conclusion
The most successful brands understand that customers crave more than just products, they want experiences, emotions, and stories they can connect with. Incorporating food into your marketing campaigns isn’t just about using visuals. It’s about creating brand experiences that resonate on a sensory and emotional level. As you develop your brand strategy, think about how food can deepen your connection with your audience, and make your brand feel more engaging, aspirational, and culturally relevant.
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