It's all about Food magnetism
The branding of food brands + branding spotlight & cool inspiration
👋 Hello brand enthusiast, how are you doing today?
Today, I would like to reflect on a topic we all love and indulge in - food, and more specifically, Food brands. So, grab a drink and let's dive into this lengthy talk.
✦ Food brands have it all
Food is deeply rooted in our evolution, and we have developed a strong attachment. It is a brand of its own (Apple is a perfect example: One apple a day keeps the doctor away). Food impacts our perception of what is healthy, tasty, appealing, adventurous or repulsive, and our relationship with it is unique to each of us. It is influenced by childhood memories, health, recovery, trauma, passion to purpose, family heritage, and even survival. Food is a political and societal act of change.
Food brands have it all! They have our love and interest due to the basic need for sustenance. However, they also have a responsibility as stewards of a resource we must wisely and mindfully enjoy from its origin in the ground to its consumption on our plates and in our bodies.
✦ What do I mean by Food brands?
For me, Food brands are all those brands that use food as a language. The moment they start expressing themselves in the food arena, they become a Food brand with a story of making, teaching, producing, defending or nurturing. There are billions of Food brands! You are also a food brand.
Even if you don't have a food product to sell, you still have a food identity that you share with people you love. Through the dishes you cook, produce, and share, people sense that language and identify the unique way you express yourself through food. These dishes define a set of words that capture the feelings and experiences associated with your food. In this sense, we are all Food brands.
Let's explore some cool, inspiring, and disruptive Food brands
✦ Mory Sacko → a humble and talented savoir-faire
He is one of my favourite chefs and I am not the only one in my family to appreciate his work. My mother especially admires how he infuses African cuisine into his dishes. He succeeded in attracting food lovers from all around the world with a disruptive DNA of African spark, Asian orchestra and European staples. As a Food brand, what strikes me is the chef's character, which is reflected in every single expression of his food. He brings into his food his unique eye and savoir-faire, drawing on a unique mix of experiences, flavors, and heart to bring joy.
The art of Branding is people connecting with your personality and then buying your product or service.
The magic happens when they can connect and food accelerates that encounter
Food is a primal interest, challenge, and critique because we have high expectations of our food taste, especially today. We have all developed our palates and are more willing to try new flavors. For a chef to master this territory of curiosity with audacity and respect is to be elevated, and he is!
✦ Le Fooding → a tour of food trends
Le Foodie not only talks about food but also shares the culture of food, reflecting on the culture we live in. They curate food experiences from the product to events and people sharing their food stories. The culture of paradoxes we witness in the food industry and language is also reflected. Trends dictate the next dish of the month, pop culture raises an old veggie into stardom, and it becomes viral. Food is abundant, and people read, write, film, direct, debate, produce, critique and even party around food.
Now, some Food cinematography
Here are some icons I came across on YouTube. Let's discuss the power of shorts and how they can create masterpiece movies in just a few seconds, but also expand to longer pieces.
Arbiz Kitchen → is the queen of shorts and food cinematography.
Her work is uniquely designed and identifiable, from cooking to character, the story to visual effects, and the joy of craft. She disrupts the food language by adding a touch of magic and conqueror energy. The way she depicts her characters, and the set of hand gestures that she makes are like choreography. The dropping of ingredients and how they dissolve into the final result with elegance and speed is mastery. Her shorts speak to everything we love about the new age of storytelling on social media but in a fresh, playful, and stylized way. For sure, she loves cooking! Arbiz is an alchemist of food, responsible for cooking, branding, storytelling, and editing!
Albert_cancook → Drama and food make art. The emotional connections overpower the ''emotional damage''* (branding trigger and identification: the visible tear in an eye). This is quite an epic masterclass of branding playfulness in our era. It speaks to fast-paced users of today with speed and sounds exacerbating the engaging gesture, along with the acting of Albert and his co-stars being quite catchy. Whether it is organic food or perceived junk food, it looks good, zoomed in well, and drops onto the screen perfectly. We are ready to taste it or run to the kitchen to give it a try. *if you look at the short you will get it.
Nino’s Home → The ASMR, the hidden character, the food majesty, and that cat! It's not only about the preparation of food, it is an orchestration of cooking, a methodology, and rhythm. It's like watching a movie where food is the main character, supported by Nino and his cats. Beautiful tasty awe!
Tasty is always a treat of storytelling → We discover the story of dishes and people. I love their African cuisine series, shedding light on stunning and yummy dishes from around the world. With an enticing dive into the pot and cooking, we have a direct close-up. That is quite dangerous for foodies!
Finally, Gaz Oakley → My top vegan chef! He infuses flavors from around the world into his dishes, and his bright personality makes the cooking process welcoming and fresh. He is one of the lead figures in vegan cooking. He is a chef and educator who promotes curiosity and thought leadership on topics such as organic food, returning to the countryside, and animal wellbeing. This greatly amplifies his brand awareness. In a nutshell, everything looks good, the food is glowing, the teacher is cool, the colors and flavors are popping, and it's all vegan. Can you believe it? I'm sure you can!
All these attributes elevate the promptness of food as art, culture, humanity, comfort and entertainment. We don't just consume food; we also learn about it, practice it, and train in it. It becomes a passion and possibly a future career.
You never know where Food will lead you to.
🥘 A tasty list of inspiration • Amaury Guichon • Korean stars cooking • Mark Weins • Ranveer Brar • Nadiya Hussein • Jamie Oliver • Georgiana Viou • Cyril Lignac • Great Indian ASMR • Feed • The Makanai • Maangchi • Colors in Korean cuisine • Jow • Marmite case • Zenb plant-based power • Afriyummy • Street food documentary and more…
💡 Branding spotlight: Moonbyte
Eat in a playfully-healthy way
Moonbyte is a French brand founded by two brothers, Bakang Bakang Tonjé and Dikom Bakang-Tonje. They had previously ventured into the healthy food industry through their brand ‘‘Dear Muesli’’ a few years ago. I remember stumbling upon a blog article about it a few years back, but I did not make the link when I tested Moonbyte. It is funny enough how it makes even more sense now, knowing what they have built before.
I discovered them last year and loved the tastiness of their chocolate bars filled with natural ingredients. Testing made me aware of the brand’s feel. I loved the cosmic tone of voice, the enticing packaging using transparency and a universe of magic (astrology/astronomy becomes a playful trigger). Now, Moonbyte is also an ice cream, they bridge the gap into a new arena of pleasure food by tackling the main pain point: can I eat an ice cream that is healthy for me?
Many vegan brands are already venturing into this important task, especially today. Not everybody has the time and machinery to create their own healthy version of ice cream. It takes trial and error to achieve a healthy balance. Fingers crossed for Moonbyte🤞I have not tried their latest ice cream collection yet!
💡What makes their branding so powerful?
A catchy name: Moonbyte = a taste of the Moon. We love the Moon, so why not have a taste of it? I think it is a grand promise for any brand, they ought to deliver an experience out of this world with such a name that is so iconic.
They address a need and trend of consumers, especially Gen Z.
The product is really good! I tasted their bars, they had a joyful impact on me.
A young brand that speaks to its generation with all the codes of communication of our era. They play with social media and spread their message and products. What more to ask?
They co-create their products with their community prioritizing transparency as a core brand value. This is reflected in their podcast and social media content, which goes beyond promoting their products and aims to address societal issues related to healthy food, brand building, and the current era.
They share the founder’s journey with all the ups and downs that come with it. I think their building process as entrepreneurs benefits their artisan brand value. That storytelling highlights their mission of promoting healthy, transparent, and nurturing food. It also expands the core customer base. If you remember "Dear Muesli," you will recognize their disruptive style. One could call them serial entrepreneurs.
Karma & Branding → The actions you take in one brand can determine the fruits you reap in your next brand (it is a passing of the baton).
Cool links to click on
🇫🇷 La ligne diagonale (How to gain media coverage as a small business?)
🇫🇷 Papier Tigre (Another tasty French brand but in the paper field)
Studio Ultra Deluxe (Increase your discoverability with the power of GIFs)
Jung Von Matt (An agency with daring ideas that capture the eye and curiosity)
🎈 Fun brand(ING) prompt / 010
Do you have a favorite food brand from when you were a child?
🍉 What is unique about them? Are you able to detect and decode their branding style? Have your interest and curiosity about them increased since childhood?
Video, words, illustration, animation… you choose. Short and sweet.
In the space of inspiration, impact is easier.
I hope you enjoyed the read of the week. If yes, share it with peers, friends and family. Sharing is loving.
Yours creatively,
Keva.
Thank you for outlining what Moonbyte does well. It seems like they’ve identified their target and know how to market to them. Now I want to try that ice cream!