Author: Melissa Sartini
Date of Publication: 16/03/2023
In recent years food has had a crazy surge on social media. Actually, there are millions of shares, posts, stories and comments about food. In fact, today photographing and sharing food has become a real mania. So, many people immortalize their dish when they come to the table to share the pleasure. Hence the hashtag #foodporn appears as the undisputed holder of the trend podium. However, what is it and why has it depopulated so much?
The most famous food
Let’s start by saying that the most photographed and shared food on social networks is pizza. In particular, pizzas have taken more than 22 billion views on TikTok, and 59.1 million hashtags on Instagram. What’s more, the monthly search volume on Google for pizza, is on average, of 13.6 million searches in the world. Ice cream comes second receiving 43.9 million hashtags on Instagram and 28 billion views on TikTok. Finally, the third place belongs to sushi, with about 7.5 billion views on TikTok and 32.1 million hashtags on Instagram.
The birth of food porn
Now it’s time for foodporn! First of all this hashtag is the set of English terms "food" and "porn". This hashtag defines food as a real drug for the eyes, an obsession, which in some respects refers to the idea of an erotic form, compared to pornography. So, we are talking about all those dishes that must be “eaten with the eyes”. Therefore, published images should make you very hungry and show the "talent" of those who publish them. As a result, these images could increase the profile visibility.
In fact, this term was born in 1984 when Rosalind Coward used in her book "Female Desire" the term "pornographic food". Actually, she was referring to dishes created to perfection, which must make your mouth water. This idea of desire has its roots in ancient rituals such as the tea ceremony, in which every gesture must be perfect. For this reason food has gone far beyond the simple fact of being eaten. In fact, it has spread in various areas and contexts including advertising.
Food in advertising
How do you get into this world? And here we aren’t just talking about the simple advertisements that intend to promote or encourage the sale of a product in the supermarket. In fact, it goes from advertising, restaurants, bars, clubs, festivals, fairs and much more, to sharing on social media a moment that we are living. Today this is what’s happening: to show everyone that we are living trying to gain new experiences but still pleasant. So, what isn’t more inviting than a beautiful picture of a dish?
The sharing of food is an uncontrollable phenomenon now, stimulated by the frenetic use of social media such as Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. This is crucial in a world where people are living more and more on online platforms. How many times have we personally happened to look for tips, reviews and advice on the Internet or where to eat or how to cook something? This is because we place a lot of trust in the information we find and especially the information that is shared by the people we know.
Food influencer
All those strategies that involve the promotion of a local, a business, a brand... by influential subjects (influencers) are part of the so-called "marketing influence”. Food influencers unlike others have developed their career and business around the world of food. In fact, they are able to influence and change the way they do marketing in the food industry. What’s more, a food influencer usually writes a food blog.
Also for this reason influencer marketing is increasingly widespread and very important today and has drawn inspiration to develop in the culinary industry. Some of the most famous in the world are: Gordon Ramsay, in 2021 his followers on Instagram exceeded 12.270.000 and a single post costs 33.900 dollars. This data, collected by HopperHQ, makes him the richest food influencer in the world. Then Jamie Oliver and Rosanna Pansino follow.
Influencer marketing is definitely a good opportunity for the catering world. The right influencer can offer the restaurant greater visibility and value, involving more and more customers.
The perfect photos
Let’s take a look at some tips for perfect photos, based on the experience of some experts:
Using natural light
Finding the right angle
Pay attention to depth of field
Using filters, but not too much
Applying the third party rule
Choose instagrammable restaurants
What about you? Do you follow these tips? Do you spend more time photographing a dish than enjoying the moment? Most of all, do you choose a restaurant, a bar, a club based on what you see on social media?