The colder temperatures of the fall and winter seasons bring about cozy vibes and food holidays that have many reaching for familiar meals to warm them up. Many people’s fondest memories are intricately tied to food events, which begs the question: How can food ingredient marketing strategies inspire manufacturers to develop applications that evoke these feelings of nostalgia and comfort?
Food Ingredient Companies Can Look to the Past for Inspiration
Much of today’s product development for food manufacturers focuses on emerging consumer trends that lead to the creation of new and innovative applications. However, leveraging your ingredient portfolio’s strengths may also mean looking to familiar comfort foods of the past for inspiration and capitalizing on the emotional connections of the Millennial, Gen-X and Baby Boomer age groups.
If your ingredient portfolio is catered to creating and/or enhancing these kinds of comfort foods, make your marketing efforts reflect that. Promote how your ingredients are the perfect solution for seasonal offerings, like hearty soups for chilly winter months, classic casseroles for family gatherings or indulgent desserts during the holiday season. Show how your ingredients bring warmth, nostalgia and satisfaction to every bite, perfect for these special occasions.
For companies marketing more innovative ingredients, offering a twist on a classic recipe may be the way to go. Propose an exciting new flavor profile designed to generate excitement around a familiar application. Think adding curried sausage to breakfast bowls or a unique inclusion like candied Kielbasa in scones to reinvigorate a more traditional product category.
Limited Time Offers Capture Consumers with Urgent Strategies
You see these types of limited time offers in the breakfast cereal, baked goods and snacks categories, and the kinds of products that immediately transform us back to our childhood years. With a whopping 95% of consumers saying they will likely buy a product after being emotionally triggered, using nostalgic marketing strategies in the food industry space is a sure bet when it comes to selling a product.
Seasonal flavors, like pumpkin spice in autumn or peppermint around the holidays, instantly evoke memories and traditions, creating an emotional pull that goes beyond simple cravings. Promoting your ingredients to food manufacturers that can be used in limited-edition flavor applications or packaging that recalls iconic designs can create a sense of exclusivity and excitement, urging consumers to purchase before the chance slips away. Nostalgic marketing not only boosts sales but also fosters a deeper connection between the consumer and the brand, making products feel like cherished parts of their personal history.
Emotion drives our purchases
Whether it’s demonstrating how to enhance comfort foods or offering unique takes on a familiar favorite, ingredient companies can take advantage of consumer nostalgia and get food manufacturers excited about the potential of their ingredients.
When a brand or product is part of a cherished memory, being able to buy it again enables consumers to indulge in a sense of familiarity. Food ingredient marketers can capitalize on these emotions and influence manufacturers to create products poised to become favorites for the next generation.