Food and Social Media

Project report
On
FOOD AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Compiled by
CH.NO TABLE OF CONTENT
CH 1 INTRODUCTION
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
SCOPE OF STUDY
SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
CH 2 LITERATURE REVIEW
CH 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
CH4 THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE
CH5 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
CH6 FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS
CH7 CONCLUSION
QUESTIONNAIRE
REFERENCES
ABSTRACT
In this research we will get to know about ‘’FOOD AND SOCIAL MEDIA’’. A video
blog or video log, usually shortened to vlog is a form of blog for which the medium is video,
and is a form of web television. Vlog entries often combine embedded video (or a video link)
with supporting text, images, and other metadata. Entries can be recorded in one take or cut
into multiple parts. Vlog category is popular on the video-sharing platform YouTube. In
recent years Vlogging has evolved into a giant community on social media where people can
release any information that they want. Vlogs are a unique way for people to help people in
so many aspects of their lives. Written Blogs can't provide a visual design in the ways Vlogs
can deliver deeper context through imagery. Video logs (vlogs) also often take advantage
of web syndication to allow for the distribution of video over the Internet using either
the RSS or Atom syndication formats, for automatic aggregation and playback on mobile
devices and personal computers (see video podcast) New York artist Nelson Sullivan was
known for recording videos around New York City and South Carolina, in a vlog-like style
back in the 1980s.
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Food and social media represents a complex interweaving of “foodie” or gourmet interest in
cooking with those of blog writing and photography. The majority of blogs use pictures taken
by the author himself/herself and some of them focus specifically on food photography.
There are different types of Food blogging. Food and travel is a particularly compelling type
of food blogging because it involves the engagement of different cultures. These bloggers
travel around the globe, visiting and eating their way through cities known for food like
Bangkok, Chengdu, and Tokyo as well as lesser known hot food spots like Istanbul, Kuala
Lumpur, and Karachi documenting their experience as they go. Food and travel blogging
involves a lot of research, shooting, editing, investing & scheduling involved These blog
hosts bear the challenge of embracing other cultures and experiences, even if that means
stepping out of their comfort zone For many people, it's the visual appeal of food alone that
draws their interest towards many food photographers/bloggers Food photography is simply
product photography with a focus on food. Food photographers aim to show, share, and
persuade by photographing food arranged in a well lit, diligently arranged background.
Unlike the other types of food blogging, food photographers have a specific mission to take
the best possible photos and videos of food Professional food photography is usually a
collaborative process involving multiple people including a director, food and prop stylists,
photographers, etc. Blogging is a key marketing and brand development tool for any cause.
It's common practice for restaurants, catering companies, meal delivery services, private
chefs, and other food and beverage businesses to turn to influential food-bloggers and use
their audience to raise awareness for their business It's important for these businesses to
choose the influential bloggers in the market, or "influencers". Popular food-bloggers, like all
other successful bloggers, are able to draw a specific audience and build their reputation by
consistently posting quality content. Over time, the blogger accumulates influence over some
of their audience. Consumers often build a connection with the blog host(s) they closely
follow affecting their buying decisions. In the eyes of professional marketers, these
influencers are key to spreading word of the company they represent to the appropriate buyer
personas. This is what the blogger can "sell" to companies whose products and services
they'd endorse or be sponsored by. The more popular a blog is, the more opportunities the
blogger will have to monetize their content. Bloggers use a variety of business and marketing
tactics to maximize traffic, the most important of which, is constructing a persona that can
connect with the targeted audience Here are a few ways a food blogger can go about earning
profit online Even though most bloggers aren't necessarily experts in their area of practice,
this doesn't discourage online traffic. In fact, influencer audiences are highly reactive to
content like photos, videos, precise instructions or descriptions with regard to the flow of
cooking, eating, or even dieting. The loyalty consumers exhibit to bloggers they follow
present those bloggers with inconspicuous business opportunities The majority of feedback is
positive and suggestive. For the most part, people follow these blogs to experiment with new
recipes, become aware of new food trends, restaurants, and other creative ideas these thought
leaders have to offer. Primarily, foodies and popular bloggers are informative and
persuasive, having been posed between consumers and producers. As a result, huge parts of
the culinary landscape have sparked a new level of public interest. Cookbooks have made a
comeback, popular chefs are treated like celebrities, and dieting trends have gained more
momentum than ever. All of this can be attributed to the easily read content that bloggers
post. The impact of processing or cognitive fluency is in play when discussing the most
impactful blog posts, the bloggers who write, make visual demonstrations, guides, and other
content that is easily digestible for consumers often yield the most feedback not only in terms
of likes, but comments and shares as well. Being a food expert has almost nothing to do with
running a successful food blog. The bloggers persona, persuasion, and engagement style are
the main components, aside from content, are main determinants of the amount of influence a
blogger gains
SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The main motive is to know how the social media and food bloggers have a great influence .
On recent food trends and the popularity of on new dishes with the help of social media and
to know the current food trends in the market
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

 To target the right people with the right message
 To understand the influence of social media and food bloggers on indian customer
 To share the recipe of particular dishes or a particular cuisine from the food bloggers
 To understand the reviews of a restaurant
RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

The emotional exchange and support that Vloggers seek due to a sizeable amount of friendly
comments makes making bereavement Vlogs a united and common act Hosted in Los
Angeles, California, VidCon is an annual convention that allows YouTube content creators
and viewers to come together in order to share content ideas and business contacts. The first
VidCon event was held on July 10 and 11, 2010, and has now become the largest in-person
gathering of Internet creators, viewers, and representatives. This convention realizes that the
ways in which society entertains, educates, shares, and communicates are being
revolutionized, and chooses to highlight this fact via panels, meet and greets, and talks given
to audiences at the convention
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
In today’s technology driven world, social networking sites have become an avenue where
retailers can extend their marketing campaigns to a wider range of consumers. Chi (2011, 46)
defines social media marketing as a “connection between brands and consumers, [while]
offering a personal channel and currency for user centered networking and social
interaction.” The tools and approaches for communicating with customers have changed
greatly with the emergence of social media; therefore, businesses must learn how to use
social media in a way that is consistent with their business plan (Mangold and Faulds 2099).
This is especially true for companies striving to gain a competitive advantage. This review
examines current literature that focuses on a retailer’s development and use of social media as
an extension of their marketing strategy. This phenomenon has only developed within the last
decade, thus social media research has largely focused on (1) defining what it is through the
explanation of new terminology and concepts that makeup its foundations, and (2) exploring
the impact of a company’s integration of social media on consumer behavior. This paper
begins with an explanation of terminology that defines social media marketing, followed by a
discussion of the four main themes found within current research studies: Virtual Brand
Communities, Consumers Attitudes and Motives, User Generated Content, and Viral
Advertising.
Although social media marketing is a well-researched topic, it has only been studied through
experimental and theoretical research; studies never precisely describe the benefits retailers
gain from this marketing tactic. In reviewing the rich plethora of multi-disciplinary literature,
it is has become clear that studies are focusing on describing what social media marketing is
as well as examining what factors affect consumer behavior relative to social networking.
Despite the initial progress made by researchers, development in this area of study has been
limited. Research needs to expand by providing a deeper understanding of the longterm
promotional gains retailers obtain from social media marketing. More formalized studies are
also needed to progress beyond theorized or predicted outcomes in order to gain knowledge
of real life applications. This review of literature touches upon the gaps that currently exist
within social media marketing research and points out the need for future studies to explore
the benefits gained by marketing on social networking sites, especially for small retailers
To consider social media as a marketing tool a retailer must understand every aspect of it.
Social media cannot be understood without first defining Web 2.0: a term that describes a
new way in which end users use the World Wide Web, a place where content is continuously
altered by all operators in a sharing and collaborative way (Kaplan and Haenlein 2010). “It is
much more to do with what people are doing with the technology than the technology itself,
for rather than merely retrieving information, users are now creating and consuming it, and
hence adding value to the websites that permit them to do so” (Campbell et al. 2011, 87).
Web 2.0 has evolved from simple information retrieval to interactivity, interoperability, and
collaboration (Campbell et al. 2011).
Kaplan and Haenlein (2010, 61) define social media as “a group of Internet based
applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and
allow the creation and exchange of user generated content.” Sinclaire and Vogus (2011, 294)
cite O’Reilly’s (2005) definition: “social media is a broad term that describes software tools
that create user generated content that can be shared.” However, there are some basic features
necessary for a website to meet the requirements as a social network website: the site must
contain user profiles, content, a method that permits users to connect with each other and post
comments on each other’s pages, and join virtual groups based on common interests such as
fashion or politics. (Gross &Acquisti, 2005; Ellison, Steinfield& Lampe, 2007; Lenhart&
Madden, 2007; Winder, 2007; Boyd & Ellison, 2007 as cited in Cox 2010)
Consumers’ Sentiment toward Marketing (CSM) is a factor consider by researchers to

measure how well consumers will perceive social media marketing. CSM is defined as a
concept which refers to the general feelings that consumers have for marketing and the
marketplace (Lawson et al. 2001as cited by Mady 2011). An individual’s perception of the
overall marketplace plays a major role in whether or not they are motivated to partake in
consumption activities (Mady 2011). In order to create a successful marketing campaign via
social media, a consumer must be open to the technology. Consumer technology readiness is
defined as “people’s propensity to embrace and use new technologies for accomplishing
goals in home and work” (Parasuraman, 2000 as cited by Mady 2011, 195). Consumer
technology readiness is important for retailers to remember when marketing on social
networks because if their intended target market does not use social media, is not familiar
with it, or perceives it negatively, then their social media marketing will be unrewarding.
Analysis of technology readiness can determine if marketing via interactive advertising
would be a good fit for a retailer’s target market.
The Innovation Adoption Process (IAP) is another instrument that provides information on a
consumer’s acceptance of new technology. The IAP is the progression through which an
individual goes through the innovation-decision process (Rogers as cited in Mady 2011). Five
steps make up the process: knowledge of the innovation, forming an attitude toward the
innovation, deciding to adopt or reject the innovation, implementation of the innovation, and
confirmation of the decision (Mady 2011). Knowledge of IAP can help marketers obtain a
social media marketing campaign that is fulfilling.
CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Methodology of the study:
The proposed study is a descriptive study. The objective of the proposed research study
necessitates the design of the research to be conclusive and descriptive. This is instrumental
in providing information for the evaluation of particular courses of action.
Sources of Data:
The study will utilized both primary and secondary sources of data.
Primary data:
This data will be collected specifically for the research needs. This will include:
1) Interview and the surveys of the people with informed ideas with the informed ideas
of the subject of this research project.
2) A structured questionnaire will be formulated for getting their honest information.
3) Sample will be chosen from the population on the basis of simple random sampling
method. Ten hotels will randomly select for the proposed study.
Secondary Data:
 Secondary data was accumulated through various sources like internet, reference
materials, newspapers, magazines etc.
Inclusion criteria:
Many open source content management systems have enabled the inclusion of video
content, allowing bloggers to host and administer their own video blogging sites. In
addition, the convergence of mobile phones with digital cameras allows publishing of
video content to the Web almost as it is recorded. Radio and television stations may
use video blogging as a way to help interact more with listeners and viewers Youtube
has become a popular platform in order for people to express their emotions to create
a giant social community. It
Data Analysis:
The data will be analyze and represented in a systematic manner, in the form of
frequency and pie charts. Proper tables will be formed to represent the data;
conclusion will be drawn on the basis of the frequency and mean of the data.
LIMITATION:
1. Lack of time.
2. Lack of awareness amongst students.
3. Lack of data available in books and magazine
Overall all the above-mentioned people had a great role in my study. Their direct and indirect
help indeed proved to be help.
CHAPTER 4
THEORITICAL PERSPECTIVE
Right People With The Right Message
Scientists are becoming increasingly concerned that food-related content on social media is
making us think differently about food. Social media algorithms promote content that
users engage with more, so viewing more unhealthy food means seeing more of it on our
social media feeds.
This might seem like a silly thing to write about, considering we are the world’s only food
blogging platform, but here is why we decided people needed to know about this.
Sometime back when we had published an article in the magazine about what it takes to be a
successful food blogger, we had a flurry of emails asking what food blogging is really about.
While most food bloggers may know what food blogging is about, does the world know what
food blogging is?
Honestly even I am confused at times, is it a journal about the food I’m cooking, the stuff I’m
eating, restaurants I’m visiting? Or is it a license to gawk at bowls, plates and cups, thinking
of props and stopping at random places to look at discarded pieces of wood that can be used
as a rustic background for your images? I say this, because I have done all this and more.
So let’s start with what can be construed as food blogging:
The Cooking and Posting Bloggers: These are the bloggers who cook extensively, and post
about their cooking stories along with super appetising pictures. It could be anything from a
blog that documents highly authentic recipes, or experiential food or just about anything that
one is cooking. There will most often be a story accompanying the blog post. The Pioneer
Woman Cooks is a great example of such a blog.
The Restaurant Reviews: These bloggers are the people we can count on to review restaurants
for quality of food, ambience, service, price range and so on. This is much more detailed
version of a restaurant guide and will almost always include a little story about why they
loved or hated the food, what motivated them to go in the first place and so on. A Girl has to
Eat blog is one such food blog.
The Super Niche Blogs: These are bloggers who catalogue a very niche subject within food
itself. No Bake blogs, Gluten-Free blogs, Vegan blogs etc would come under this. Theirs is a
repository of recipes that not only chronicles the food they are eating, but also gives a
glimpse of their lifestyle choices. Sous Vide Life, a joint blog by Adam Phillabaum and
Trevin Chow will show you what I mean.
Most often a food blog has overlapping elements of these three things. It’s usually a niche
that is talked about with great detailing and story telling and occasionally has product and
restaurant reviews. But there is no real rule. A blog is a personal journal. And obviously
anything you want to say about food through your blog, and as long as your blog is mainly
about food, becomes a food blog.
So what do you do if you want to be a Food Blogger?
First things first. You need a blog. You can start one on any blogging platform out there like
Wordpress, Tumblr, Blogger or medium. Cucumbertown is the world’s only blogging
platform dedicated to just food blogging. So the tools here are obviously tailor made for food
bloggers.
Once you have identified the platform, you can begin by naming the blog, getting started on a
subdomain, or if you are ready for it, get your own domain and basically create an identity for
your blog. Keep these things in mind while naming your blog, besides the obvious: it’s
availability:
1.Easy to recall
2. Easy to spell
3. Not too long
If you are hosting the domain yourself, then that also need to be looked into. This will mostly
be the case when you have your own domain. Here’s a great post that goes in to the nitty-
gritties of setting up your food blog.
Once you have the name sorted, then it comes to things like the theme, the overall design and
the look and feel of your blog. This is important, because your blog is a reflection of you, this
is what your readers are going to take away when they leave after reading a post. So make
this as close you as possible and refrain from going overboard. One of the things that
bloggers consistently do, initially, is go a little crazy with the widgets. I did. Not the best
idea. Especially because you may be giving away precious traffic and ad space.And of
course, loosing out on page speed.
Once you have this sorted, then it’s all about creating content and promoting it. There are two
things to take care of primarily for a food blogger. The first is the written content you are
creating. The more content you create, the more valuable keywords you are gathering on your
blog and eventually this will add up to making your bog SEO friendly. SEO is something
bloggers need to be conscious of when they are blogging. You can understand this a little
better with the article below:
The second big parameter to keep in mind, is the photographic content on your food blog.
Because, in this case, a picture is going to speak well over a thousand words. So get smarter
with your photography and try to constantly improve on the photography. This is becoming
even more important, now that Pinterest and Instagram have taken over people’s lives.
Now, as important as content creation, is content marketing. In fact, it is possible that this is
more, much more, important. Since I wouldn’t be able to do justice to how to promote your
content through this article, here is something that covers most of the traffic building
mechanisms out there.
There will obviously be a lot of other things to consider, including monetisation, hosting,
licensing and so on. But in a nutshell these are the initial few things one needs to think of
while setting up their food blog. In Cucumbertown, hosting, themes, SEO and analytics are
taken care of from within the platform. It of course varies from one platform to the other. But
there is no doubt that food blogging is in. And it is most definitely here to stay! So if you
have been confused as to what a food blog is and what food blogging entails, I hope this has
cleared it up at least a little bit.
 Recipes
 Food/Restaurant Review
 Food and Travel (Ethics and Culture)
 Food Photography
As long as it is about food it is considered as food blog. Most often a food blog has overlapping elements
of all or some of these elements. A blog is a personal journal and there is no real rule of writing a food
blog.
 Promoting an affiliate product or service

 Pitching to PR firms
 Ad space
 Sponsored Posts/Ads
 Host Sponsored Contests/Giveaways
 Offer Premium (paid) Content/Memberships
 Private Community
 Site Sponsorship
 Sell Merchandise
 Sell Templates, Ebooks, Tutorials, and other useful content.
 Product Reviews
 Drop-ship Products
 Create a Resource Page
Influence of social media & food bloggers on recent food
trends
In 2015, lifestyle, food and travel vblogger Doug Armstrong went to McDonald’s beef farm,

meat-processing factory and kitchen in the UK. He took the viewers on an invigorating
journey on how McDonald produces its burgers. It was a paid marketing campaign. Today,
the reach of the video is more than 3.9 million.
Take 2: Atreya Paul, Public Relations Consultant of The Irish House, a popular restro-pub in
Kolkata, relied on social media platforms to promote the outlet’s special offerings on St
Patrick’s Day (March 17). He looped in Kolkata-based influencers, who shared food-related
content on their social media channels. “The outreach was huge and we were very happy with
the response,” says Paul.
Blogging has emerged as a robust online content marketing and branding tool. Blogs have
been rated as the 5th most trusted source for accurate online information. Study demonstrates
that 77% of Internet users read blogs and 346 million people read blogs across the world.
Today, blogs are one of the foremost online media platforms, impact individuals in their
buying and eating choices. Among all other industries, it’s the lifestyle, travel and food
sectors which have taken the bloggers’ opinion seriously.
According to a study, 92 % of consumers trust recommendations from others, even

individuals they don’t know, over branded content. As food bloggers are becoming the new
influencers of the industry, numerous eatery administrations are taking advantage of their
online presence and are welcoming bloggers to review their restaurant. Army of influencers is
rapidly changing the way F&B industry functions.
Hence, food blogging, which many started off as a mere hobby, have now become a full-time
profession.
Kolkata-based food bloggers and influencers — RukshanaKapadia (The Culinary

Commentator) and Poorna Banerjee (Presented By P) — have a strong following and their
opinions matter. Hence top restaurant management invites them and other influencers such as
AsthaModi and PayelRakshit to review their properties and write on culinary activities.
So, when a food blogger become an influencer
Not all bloggers are or can be influencers. In the era of fake news and information-saturation,
it’s important to identify bloggers who have depth insight on the subject because blogs are
meant to be trusted source of information for the consumers. According to a study, 70%
inform that online reviews are their second-most-trusted source. Also, 47 % of US readers
consult blogs to keep tabs on trends and ideas.
Supreeta Singh, who runs her own PR, events and communication agency in Kolkata, and
regularly holds “bloggers meet” at various restaurants such as The Astor, The Grid and The
Palms, informs that not all influencers are required to write blogs. She/he should be a socially
active person. “A blogger can be a “very good writer” but an influencer moulds opinions. In
Kolkata, there are a few important bloggers and influencers and their attendance is very
crucial in every food event that I do,” she says.
Food critic and influencer RukshanaKapadia of The Culinary Commentator loves anything
remotely related to food. A renowned influencer in Kolkata’s F&B industry, Rukshana
clearly mentions that everyone who owns a blog “is not an influencer.” “Once you have a
certain number of followers across various social media formats then your opinion does carry
weight. Your reputation is built on the quality of your content,” says Rukshana, whose food
blog is ranked 18 by Zomato.
RanaBasu Thakur, who’s the PR consultants for reputed food properties such as Yauatcha,
Club Boudoir, Keventers, and Gokuls, echoes similar sentiments and informs that an
influencers’ qualitative depth resonate with a wider audience.“Influencer marketing is the
fastest growing channel of marketing spends today. The more people talk about your brand or
product experience, the more the virtual chatter will aid in your SEO ranking ramp ups,” he
says.
S Ramani, managing partner, 6 Ballygunge Place, one of the most-sought after food
destinations in Kolkata, also admits that food bloggers are gaining momentum and helping in
attracting business. However, he is quick to mention that not every blogger is to be trusted. “I
agree blogging is changing the food industry, but one needs to look out for bloggers with
integrity,” he says.
How an influencer help a food brand
Planning to take out your close ones for dinner? Well, we don’t search for the newest
restaurant on Google but instantly check out the reviews and the rating of the restaurant on
Zomato. Reviews on other social media channels such as Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and
Facebook also influence the decisions of the hardcore foodies.
F&B businesses across the world are turning to influential bloggers to reach out to the target
audience and for better customer engagement. Also, the food influencers with their creativity
and thought leadership bring in the new audience too.
Dineout, a popular table reservation platform, organised India’s first ever nationwide
restaurant festival, The Great Indian Restaurant Festival 2017 in February. And interestingly,
food influencers and bloggers played a key role in the widespread awareness of the culinary
event.
SweetyDutta, Assistant Marketing Manager – Dineout, Chennai, who is an influencer herself,

admits that a brand cannot always reach everyone but an influencer plays a vital part in
digital marketing space to spread the word.“Our GIRF was the biggest restaurant festival in
India that ran for 10 days. Influential bloggers played a very important role in making GIRF a
big hit. They spread the word on a large scale with their posts on Instagram, Facebook, and
Twitter and of course their blogs,” she says.
Rana, who handles Yauatcha, a Michelin star Chinese eatery providing city’s best dim sums,
has pioneered the concept of ‘Evening of Eminence’, where Kolkata’s eminent people and
top influencers (read food bloggers such as Rukshana, Poorna, PayelRakshit who blogs
for Dine Dazzle Dive and AsthaModi of blabbercat.com) meet and discuss various topics
including food. “In most cases, food influencers are genuinely helpful and resourceful in
finding any lacunae in service quality. Their degree of virtual proliferation is good and the
brand touch point gets a good immersive impact with a hitherto untapped horizon,” says
Rana, also the chief mentor at Just Lateral Thinkink.
Celebrity marketing vs influencer marketing
When your favourite celebrity endorses your favourite brand, you also like to use that
brand. Celebrities play a key role in consumer buying behaviour. However, with the rapid
advancement of technology and the growth of digital marketing, “wellness influencers” are
also becoming important for a brand. Today, brands are willing to partner more
with influencers because it increases the brand’s credibility.
Back home, our experts place their bets on influencer marketing. Atreya totally rides on the
influencers when it comes to promotion of a new restaurant in Kolkata. He informs that today
consumers are not gullible and rely more on the influencers and bloggers for their expert
comments. “People are not bothered about star footfalls. They are more inclined towards
authentic statements and reviews,” he says.
For Supreeta, who handles popular F&B outlets such as The Astor, The Palms, The Shack
Lounge, What’s Up and The Lalit Great Eastern to name a few in Kolkata, a celebrity might
be “paid” to endorse a product but influencers write based on their opinion. At times, a social
influencer can also be paid but they mostly use the product and then give their expert
comments.
Rana, too, believes that with the proliferation of too many celebs endorsing products blindly,
brand empathy is slowly waning. “Influencers are more ‘real’ and appear more credible,” he
says.
Social media channels and influencers
Today, even before we gorge on the perfectly spongy red velvet cake, we post a beautifully
edited photograph of the cake on Instagram. Let’s admit. More than eating food, today we
love to show the world what we are eating.
Social media has changed the way we eat, shop and travel. We visit YouTube for instant
recipes, refer to Facebook groups for travel insights or tweet to our favourite chef
SanjeevKapoor to seek expert advice on food. Personally, I refer to Facebook page Tasty for
quick and easy-to-make recipes.
Did you know that 81% of people are influenced by their friends’ social media posts?
According to Mint, in 2016, Twitter saw an average of 370,000 tweets a month in India with
the mention of “food”. Also, #nomnom has been used on Instagram for food-related
photographs nearly 10.3 million times.
Santanu Mukherjee, digital marketing head of Indus Net Technologies and also a self-
confessed foodie, admits that genuine food bloggers today operate across various social
media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, in addition to posting
on their blogs. Over time, they gain followers, who trust their opinions. “Influencer
marketing is an important part of digital marketing today and bloggers are becoming top-
rated influencers,” he says.Facebook is a vital tool for marketers. In 2015, the channel
influenced 52% of online and offline purchasers, a considerable rise from 36% in 2014.
According to Aditya Gupta, co-founder of iGenero, nearly 50% of the brands today utilise
micro influencers for the launch of new products either through Facebook Live, YouTube
videos or Instagram stories. Influencers forge a relationship with the consumers directly
through their content, videos and feedback.
For food influencer Rukshana, Instagram and video blogging are emerging as major social
media channels to entice the food connoisseurs. “Eating food is an experience. We eat with
many senses and the visuals are very important. Instagram has had an enormous impact on
the food industry. It’s also been a great tool to entice people to try new cuisines, to become
adventurous with their taste buds, to inform people and educate them about the enormous
variety of food available,” she says, whose recent blog post on Bengali cuisine is winning
hearts.
RukshanaKapadia of The Culinary Commentator is an important influencer in the F&B

industry in Kolkata. IC: Zomato
She also informs that video blogging is a great interactive tool and is soon becoming a trend
in F&B industry. Atreya too informs how vlogging is slowly catching up and how people are
interested in watching small quick videos of cooking and plating.
Also, social media can be best put to use when launching a new restaurant in town. Atreya
recalls how he hosted several blogger’s meets, social influencer’s meets and Instagrammer’s
meets for his Kolkata food client ParantheWaliGalli, which is known for delicious chocolate
paratha and chicken chettinad. “The social media handles of the influencers helped the brand
to become the talk of the town,” said Atreya, who is the PR strategist of eateries such as
Bombay Brasserie and Serafina to name a few in Kolkata.
In the meantime, Mukherjee informs that food lovers are highly influenced by the comment
section on Facebook. Also, shares on social media platforms are equally important. “If one of
our friend’s share on Facebook about a restaurant, which has got good reviews, we too tend
to share it with others. When a blogger posts a review about a restaurant on social media the
visibility increases. The moment there’s visibility, it tends to become at the top of our recall
value,” he says.
Word-of-mouth publicity still rules
Reportedly, 74% of consumers identify word-of-mouth (WOM) as a key influencer in their

purchasing decision. WOM might be the oldest and simplest form of marketing but till date,
it remains a pivotal and mother of all marketing strategies. And in this case, too, influencers
play a crucial role. According to a study in 2014, millennials are influenced by WOM more
than baby boomers.
S Ramani of 6 Ballygunge Place admits that bloggers promote content through their various
social media profiles and add to the WOM publicity.
Rana says that influencers and bloggers can be the valuable resource to increase WOM and
improve customer engagement to get the word out about the product. As per an article
in Forbes, 64% of marketing executives said that they believed WOW is the most effective
form of marketing. “Even in the age of rampant social media usage, for any restaurant WOM
promotion is the biggest thing,” says Atreya.
They burst onto the food blogging scene when it was still unheard of. Three bloggers tell us
how they manage to stay relevant despite the changing face of the Internet
The recipe of particular dishes or a particular cuisine
from the food bloggers
India is known for its rich and spicy food. The Indian cuisine is a platform where there is
scope for lot of innovation and creativity. Given most Indians are natural cooks the few
passionate cooks have gone one step ahead and gotten into the digital space to record and
share their cooking journey with fellow food enthusiasts. Here we have listed 20 best food
blogs by Indians on following points in no particular order.
 Frequency of blogging and updating the blog
 Blog optimization
 Swiftness in responding to comments of their blog audience
 The clever usage of social media channels to promote their blog and their consistence on
social media channels
 Innovation and variety of dishes they have tried out & shared with their followers &
audiences
1. Saffrontrail:
If you are looking for an authentic tambrahm recipe then you should visit saffrontrail.
Saffrontrail is NanditaIyer’s blog. Based in Bangalore now, she has worked with Ogilvy
Healthcare (Mumbai) as a strategy planner in the past and is a well published writer and
columnist. Her articles have appeared in Men’s Health, Mint, BBC Good Food, Femina,
DNA, Complete Wellbeing, Mother& Baby, Yowoto.com among others. She has been
blogging since 2006 and recently she has launched her YouTube channel in 2014. Graduated
as nutritionist, you can notice a lot of health aspect related to her recipes in her blog. She also
conducts culinary workshops for individuals and corporates with nutrition and healthy
cooking as prime focus.
Source: http://saffrontrail.blogspot.in/
You can follow her on Food Gawker, Pinterest and Instagram.
2. Sailu’s Food:
SailajaGudivada from Vizag is the brain behind Sailu’s Kitchen. Apart from being a food
blogger and food photographer she is also an organic gardener. She uses produce from her
own vegetable garden to make mouth-watering recipes. Given her origin, her blog has all
the spicy Andhra delicacies covered. Anybody looking for the right recipe for spicy Andhra
style prawn curry should try this recipe. Being a food enthusiast, she doesn’t stop with what
she knows best. Sailusfood.com has rare to find recipes for Indian festivals.
http://www.sailusfood.com/
SailajaGudivada is active on Pinterest and G+.
3. Passionate About Baking:
As the name suggests, it’s a food blog about baking, cooking, food photography, food trends,
cuisines and cultures. DeebaRajpal believes in ‘Doing Food From Scratch’ and her posts
reflect the same. She loves baking with fruits, baking whole grain bread, exploring new
ingredients, alternative flours, gluten free foods etc. She writes an online baking blog for the
Times of India in the name – The Rabid Baker.
Recepie
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat two 9-inch-round cake pans with cooking spray and
line the bottoms with parchment paper.
Whisk the cocoa powder and 1 1/2 cups boiling water in a medium bowl until smooth; set
aside. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl until
combined. Add the eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream and vanilla and beat with a mixer on
medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Reduce the mixer speed to low; beat in the
cocoa mixture in a steady stream until just combined, then finish mixing with a rubber
spatula. (The batter will be thin.)
Divide the batter between the prepared pans and tap the pans against the counter to help the
batter settle. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, 30 to 40
minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of the
pans and turn the cakes out onto the racks to cool completely. Remove the parchment. Trim
the tops of the cakes with a long serrated knife to make them level, if desired.
Source: http://www.passionateaboutbaking.com/
She also develop recipes on request which include which include baking using alternate
grains like oats, buckwheat, amaranth etc. So, if you have some confectioneries in your mind
you can write to her.
She has cleverly added a “Recommended for you widget” in her blog that helps her readers to
explore her blog more!
4. Sharmi’s Passions:
SharmileeJayaprakash from Coimbatore started cooking only after marriage and started her
blogging venture in 2009. It is when she was an expectant mother and was searching for a
recipe that she got introduced to blogging. She quit her 7yrs IT job to become a full time
mother and blogger. She is passionate about cooking through the days and now loves to
experiment different cuisines. Her blog has a good number of ‘How to’ cooking videos that
will help the cooking amateurs.
Source: http://www.sharmispassions.com/
5. Padhus Kitchen:
This blog is the brainchild of PadhuSankar who loves cooking, traveling and gardening. Her
blog focuses on simple easy to cook Indian veg recipes. Padhu with her South Indian roots
has always followed traditional methods to keep herself healthy and fit. This lifestyle of hers
has encouraged her to write a blog on health & beauty tips as well. Padhu has a passion for
gardening and has a small kitchen garden in her back yard, where she composts her kitchen
waste and uses it for the garden again. Her blogs on cooking basics is a boon for all cooking
beginners. Her step by step photo tutorials for the recipes makes cooking look very simple
and inspires anybody to try their hands on cooking.
http://www.padhuskitchen.com/
You can follow her on G+, Facebook and twitter.
6. Manjulas Kitchen:
Manjula Jain writes on simple and practical recipes that reiterate the authenticity of Indian
vegetarian cooking. Her video tutorials and written tutorials will make fundamentals of
Indian cooking easily understandable. Manjulas Kitchen has a wide range of Vegan
recipes listed on her blog.
The website allows guest blogging, and has an active forum and also conducts monthly
contests thereby encouraging a lot of food blogging community traffic to the website. She is
also an active food vlogger and has uploaded more than 350 video tutorials on YouTube in
the past 8 years. This blog is a must try for vegans.
There is some evidence that, if you see pictures of food, that visual stimulation can prompt
you to feel a desire to eat," says Suzanne Higgs, professor in the psychobiology of appetite at
the University of Birmingham, UK. Although, she says, whether people follow through on
that desire is influenced by lot of other factors, such as what food is available at the time.
But social media is one place where visual and social cues meet. There is certainly evidence
that if friends in your social network post regularly about particular types of food, it
could lead you to copy them, for better or for worse. And research indicates that social media
might be changing our relationship with food, making us think differently about what we eat.
"If all your friends on social media are posting pictures of themselves consuming fast food,
it's going to set a norm that eating fast food is what people do," says Higgs.
Research suggests we're more likely to engage with photos of fast food, says Ethan Pancer,
professor of marketing at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. This is
particularly true of saturated fat, because it makes us feel good by releasing dopamine and
stimulating pleasure centres in the brain. Humans are biologically primed to seek out calorie-
dense food – an ability that helped our ancestors survive when they foraged for food.
"Evolutionary psychology has found that people feel happy when they simply see these
foods, and thus engage with it more," he says.
With more exposure to unhealthy foods, consumer perceptions of what is considered normal
eating habits may skew to be unhealthier – Ethan Pancer
It doesn't help that healthier foods are often seen as boring in comparison, whereas processed
food is seen as "cool", says Tina Tessitore, associate professor of marketing at the Institut
d'Économie Scientifique Et de Gestion (IESEG) School of Management in Lille, France. "In
advertising, you see unhealthy food in social settings – people having a barbeque with
friends, for example, while healthy food often focuses more on the nutritional value. If you
saw friends eating salad together, it wouldn't seem so credible," she says.
Scientists are becoming increasingly concerned that food-related content on social media is
making us think differently about food. Social media algorithms promote content that users
engage with more, so viewing more unhealthy food means seeing more of it on our social
media feeds, Pancer says.
"With higher engagement and reach metrics for unhealthy foods, content producers may
gradually shift their content to be unhealthier to stay competitive," he says. "And with more
exposure to unhealthy foods, consumer perceptions of what is considered normal eating
habits may skew to be unhealthier."
One study estimated that children and adolescents see marketing for food between 30 and 189
times per week on social media apps, with fast food and sugary drinks being the most
common. But it's not just advertising placements from the food industry that are responsible –
we're all capable of influencing people online.
Posting about food on social media has become such a phenomenon that some people make
their living through it (Credit: Don Arnold/Getty Images)
"When we think of advertising, we think of industry trying push a product, but influencers
can work in the same way," says Patricia Cavazos, professor of psychiatry at Washington
University School of Medicine, in St. Louis, Missouri, US. "Content on social media from
peers is very influential, in terms of impacting what we feel is relevant and appealing, and
social norms of how to behave."
It starts to get risky, Cavazo says, if the content people see perpetuates an unhealthy body
image, for example.
"Some of us are less influenced by content, but for others who are already at risk and may
have symptoms of eating disorders, having more content that normalises unhealthy eating
patterns could trigger someone to move towards unhealthy behaviours."
But while studies have found that social media can make us think differently about food, and
that we typically engage more with content featuring unhealthy food, it's uncertain yet
whether this actually translates to our changes in our behaviour in daily life.
"If I'm scrolling through Instagram, looking at photos of tasty food, whether I seek out the
food I'm prompted to seek out depends on how hungry I am, and whether it's appropriate in
that moment," says Higgs.
And when we do eat, we're influenced by more than what we've seen online, she adds.
"Research would suggest that, when making a decision about what and how much to eat,
we're combining different pieces of information," says Higgs. "Momentary influences come
together in ways we don't understand very well."
Research has found that that these influences can include level of nutritional knowledge,
body ideals, cooking skills and cost.
And while researchers can relatively easily isolate possible influences on social media to see
how it affects our diets, there's much more going on in real life that these studies can't look at,
Higgs says.
Some research shows that if we're scrolling through lots of photos, we start to tune them out –
we start to feel something that feels like satiety – Solveig Argeseanu
"It's possible for some people in certain situations that social media could be the predominant
factor that influences their behaviour, but it's only one factor," she adds.
The amount of influence social media has on us also varies by individual, says Melissa
Atkinson, a lecturer in psychology, at the University of Bath, UK.
"There's a lot of individual difference in terms of how we respond to social media images, in
terms of our own biological and psychological processes," she says. Some people have a
higher reward response to food cues, for example, where the brain sends out pleasure signals
after seeing certain foods, Atkinson says. These people are more likely to respond to food
cues no matter where they see them.
But even without definitive answers, researchers are looking at ways to make social media
influence our diets in positive ways.
Tessitore, for example, has found a way to make healthier food seem more exciting on social
media. She created two Twitter pages that were identical apart from one detail – one had 23
followers, while the other had more than 400,000.
Both accounts published the same tweet about eating healthy food. She showed participants
to one of the two accounts, and when asked afterwards how likely they were to eat a salad,
those who saw the account with more followers were more inclined to want to eat a salad.
This is because the more we assume someone has influence, the more likely we are to be
influenced by them ourselves, Tessitore says.
Although pictures of food can have an influence on what we eat, there are other cues that
have a stronger affect While the findings don't reflect reality, where we're typically exposed
to multiple streams of information, images and tweets, we'd still notice and process how
many followers a Twitter account has, Tessitore says, so it's likely to have the same effect.
But at the moment, we're a long way from being able to nudge people towards healthier diets
with posts about salads and steering people away from the powerful pictures of oozing
protein.
"We're fighting years of evolution here," says Pancer. "There's a reason we've evolved to look
for calorie-dense food in food-scarce environments. But eating what feels good is misfiring –
we now need to find ways to recalibrate this."
Pancer has found in his research that, as soon as we demystify why seeing photos of burgers
and chips feels good, the feel-good effect goes away. In other words – if we understand that
we're biologically programmed to feel good when we see photos of burgers, perhaps we can
become less prone to being influenced by it.
In one study, he and his team asked participants to watch one of two videos, one with calorie-
light and one with calorie-dense foods. Those who watched more calorie-dense foods felt
more positive afterwards.
In the second part of the study, he told participants that their feelings weren't based on the
food they were about to see, but on a low frequency, mood-boosting sound that was being
played, one which wasn't detectable to humans, while a second group had no influence.
Those who were told about the sound were no more likely to report that they'd engage with
the video on social media after watching the video of calorie-dense food.
But ultimately, when we click off social media and go back into real life, the many influences
on what and how we eat are still much stronger, experts say.
"I expect that food cues are stronger in person," says Argeseanu. "We're not engaging in the
same way when scrolling through photos, and we're not engaging for long. Also, some
research shows that if we're scrolling through lots of photos, we start to tune them out – we
start to feel something that feels like satiety, as if we've eaten them all."
At least if you do choose to only enjoy these feasts over Instagram, it won't leave you
needing to loosen your belt.
Life outside our living rooms has been in short supply since the beginning of the COVID-19
pandemic, so it’s no surprise that people have increasingly turned to producing and
consuming social media posts that focus on food. With limited access to our favourite
restaurants, cafés or fast-food joints, social media has become a safe way for people to get
their culinary fix.
But what is it about videos of food that engages users and generates the most likes, comments
and shares?
Our recent investigation, published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, focused on the

nutritional makeup of dishes depicted on social media. We examined the recipes and
ingredients for hundreds of Facebook videos from Buzzfeed’s Tasty profile and found that
caloric density can positively influence social media engagement.
Interestingly, not all nutrients are created equal when it comes to engagement. Rather, the
ones that people can readily see, like saturated fats, may be more responsible.
Eating with your eyes
The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally altered our relationship with food: what we’re
eating, where we’re eating, why we’re eating the way we are and even when we’re eating.
Not surprisingly, people are also spending more time on social media since the start of the
pandemic. Taken together, the pervasive use of social media has also changed how people are
exposed to food.
With more than 400 million posts tagged #food and 250 million tagged #foodporn on
Instagram at the time of this article’s publication, social media users are inundated with
visual displays of food.
Perhaps most notably, Buzzfeed’s Tasty has become the world’s largest digital culinary
network, amassing more than 100 million followers on Facebook and over a billion monthly
views.
Given the ubiquity of food media online, understanding the specific characteristics that shape
engagement is of critical importance to several groups: content producers looking to tailor
media towards viewer preferences; advertisers seeking to increase marketing impact; and
health advocates interested in helping consumers make better eating choices.
Nutrition and social media engagement
Humans are hard-wired to seek foods with characteristics that the brain instinctively
recognizes as valuable. Seeing calorie-dense foods like those high in fat content (like burgers,
pizza and cookies) typically precedes pleasurable consumption, so it is natural that
humans visually attend to food.
Finding and eating calorie-dense foods typically makes people feel good, releasing dopamine
and stimulating pleasure centres of the brain. This suggests that nutritional content can be
broadly gauged by a dish’s appearance and that the simple exposure to calorie-dense meals
can make people feel good.
We’re hard-wired to find calorie-dense foods more attractive. When it comes to influencing
online behaviours, the link between feeling good and digital engagement is well documented.
Positive content is more likely to go viral and social media content that makes consumers feel
good increases the likelihood of being liked, commented upon and shared. Taken together,
visual exposure to food media that looks calorie-dense — as opposed to calorie-light —
should drive social media engagement.
More fat = more engagement?
Our research examined the recipes and ingredients for hundreds of Facebook videos from
Buzzfeed’s Tasty using a text-processing algorithm. We found that caloric density can
positively influence social media engagement. Several follow-up experiments suggest that
positive affect, the extent to which we feel good after visual exposure to calorie-dense foods,
helps explain the connection.
Interestingly, it seems that not all nutrients are created equal when it comes to engagement.
Rather, the ones that people can readily see, like saturated fats, may be more responsible.
Saturated fats are prevalent in butter, cheese, meats and oils, and are known to give foods
their juicy, chewy and creamy sensory experiences.
Our findings align with a particular approach to food photography, where adding an artificial
sheen with WD-40 can make food look more plump, moist and juicy.
These findings raise an interesting question: Is it possible to make healthier foods, like
vegetables, more appealing by applying visual characteristics associated with fattier foods by,
for example, coating them with a sheen?
Identifying these visual characteristics of nutrients can better inform strategies to increase
engagement with more health-conscious food media content.
Importance of amplification
But why does social media engagement even matter?
Social media platforms use rank-ordering algorithms to prioritize and boost content that
receives more engagement. Simply posting content online does not mean it will be viewed.
Rather, it is engagement with content that amplifies reach and serves content to a wider
audience. If content featuring unhealthy or calorie-dense foods is more likely to receive
engagement, it is also more likely to reach more people.
Overall, our research offers some initial insight into how the nutritional composition of food
media influences social media engagement. As consumers’ preoccupation with digital food
media continues to grow, especially during pandemic lockdowns, understanding the factors
that increase engagement with this content is crucial, with public health implications.
Not only does nutrition influence what people eat, but this research suggests that it may also
shape social dynamics in terms of what people share with others, ultimately influencing and
normalizing what others eat.
Next time you like, comment on, or share a food video on social media, consider what it is
about the food you find so appealing.
Social media impacts consumer eating decisions
The 21st century has become the age of social media, for better and for worse. Everything
from the products consumers buy to the media they consume is dictated by social media, and
a recent study indicates the food and beverage they choose is no different (Appetite.
2021;165:105424).
The study, led by researchers at Aston University's College of Health and Life Sciences,
“aimed to investigate the acute effect of socially endorsed social media posts on participants'
eating behavior.” Overall, 169 adult women aged 18-65 (mean age of 21 years old)
participated. These participants were asked to look at a mock Instagram feed which included
images and videos of several different foods—including fruits, vegetables, cookies and cakes,
as well as non-food images; the posts either had a high or low level of engagement via
“Likes.” Following this exercise, participants were given access to a buffet which included
both grapes and cookies.
Ultimately, the researchers found those participants who viewed highly liked images of
healthier food options consumed more grapes than those participants who did not.
“The findings of the study suggest that not only exposure to healthy food images on social
media, but those that are also heavily endorsed with 'likes,' may nudge people to choose to eat
more healthy foods, in place of less nutritious food,” noted Lily Hawkins, Ph.D. student and
one of the study’s authors. "One reason for this may be because thinking that others 'like' and
eat fruit and vegetables nudges participants to alter their behavior in order to fit in with what
they perceive to be the norm."
Food & Beverage Insider insights
The average American only consumes about half the recommended daily intake of fiber.
Nearly 80% of consumers are actively looking to reduce or eliminate sugar from their diets.
Better-for-you confectionery, beverages and snacks are trending across food and beverage.
All of this is to say, consumers are seeking out healthier ways to eat and drink in ever-
increasing numbers.
Social media plays an enormous part in these and all other trends within food and beverage.
As the researchers noted, people want to feel like they are part of a community; consumers
will naturally want to get in on whatever trending options the people they follow on social
media have discovered.
Brands would be wise to take note here and to tailor their marketing for this social media
generation. Bright, fun and playful food and beverage options can stand out on social media;
influencers can alter public perception and jumpstart trends. If consumers see better-for-you,
sustainable and ethically produced food and beverage is trending on social media and
gathering likes, the natural inclination will be to join in for fear of being left out.
Having a good food or beverage product is only part of the battle. Making that product
healthy and sustainable is another. And marketing that product to consumers who are
constantly plugged in and attuned to the latest social trends—and, based on this study, fairly
impressionable to those social trends—is yet another. Brands which can leverage the current
state of social media and best promote themselves, their products and their mission will stand
to benefit.
Social media is secretly influencing food choices

01 Can social media shape your food choices?
Do you often find yourself endlessly swiping through food delivery apps after looking at a
pop up advertisement or a tempting recipe video or a food picture on social media? Well, the
reason for this has been explained by a recent research. Undeniably, social media has been
shaping our food choices, here’s what experts feel about it and its consequences!
02/5The Study
The research, by psychologists from Aston University’s College of Health and Life Sciences,
found that study participants who viewed highly liked mock Instagram posts of fruit and
vegetables ate a significantly higher proportion of grapes than cookies, with consumption of
grapes increasing by 14 per cent more calories, compared to those who viewed highly liked
high calorie foods.
The study, which is published in the scientific journal Appetite, investigated the acute effect
of socially endorsed social media posts on participants’ eating behaviour. The 169
participants, who had an average age of 21 years old (but total ages across the group ranged
from 18 to 48), were asked to look at mock Instagram posts of different types of food, that
either had a few or a lot of ‘likes’, and later given access to grapes and cookies to consume.
03/5The Analysis
As well as viewing images of fruit and vegetables, participants also looked at less nutritious
foods such as cakes and biscuits, and non-food images such as stylish interior designs.
However, the researchers found that the participants went on to consume a larger proportion
of grapes after viewing highly liked images of fruit and vegetables, compared to the other
images.
Aston University psychology PhD student Lily Hawkins, who led the study alongside
supervisor Dr Jason Thomas, said:
“The findings of the study suggest that not only exposure to healthy food images on social
media, but those that are also heavily endorsed with ‘likes’, may nudge people to choose to
eat more healthy foods, in place of less nutritious foods.”
“What we see others approve of eating and post about eating on social media can affect our
actual eating behaviour and could result in a greater consumption of healthier meals and
snacks.”
“One reason for this may be because thinking that others ‘like’ and eat fruit and vegetables
nudges participants to alter their behaviour in order to fit in with what they perceive to be the
norm.”
04/5The Findings
The most recent figures from the NHS’s Health Survey for England showed that in 2018 only
28 per cent of adults were eating the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables per
day. In Wales, this was 24 per cent, in Scotland 22 per cent and in Northern Ireland around
20 per cent. Children and young people across the UK had even lower levels of fruit and
vegetable consumption.
The study findings suggest that social media could be used in future as a way to encourage
healthier eating – by encouraging users to follow more social media accounts which have
highly liked nutritionally balanced posts, also containing healthier foods.
The researchers said the next stage of their work will trial an intervention using real
Instagram accounts, to test whether asking people to actively follow more social media
accounts posting images of highly liked nutritionally rich foods, can encourage people to
consume more fruit and vegetables over a sustained period of time.
Professor Claire Farrow, Director of Aston University’s Applied Health Research Group,
whose work has contributed to the national Child Feeding Guide resource, added:
“We know that social interactions can strongly shape what, when and how much we eat.
These findings highlight the important role that social media has in shaping those influences
online.”
05/5In a Nutshell
“The findings suggest that people do not simply passively view information about what other
people are eating online, but that this digital information can shape our food preferences and
choices, particularly when we think lots of other people like certain foods. It is promising that
exposure to healthy foods, and likes of those foods, was related to greater intake of healthy
foods.”
“Further research is needed to explore whether and how these findings can be translated into
digital interventions to help support individuals who want to make healthier food choices, and
to understand how social media platforms can be used as a tool to support healthy eating
behaviour.”
Famous social media platforms for food blogger
11. Raks Kitchen
RajeswariVijayanand has been blogging for 7 years. The step-wise picture tutorials make it
easy for any beginner to cook. Bachelor’s recipes, one pot recipes and rasam varieties are the
highlights of Raks Kitchen. For simple daily vegetarian recipes and quick-fix recipes you
should visit her blog. Who will not want to try simple 18 dosa varieties?
Her short videos cover cooking hacks smartly and make cooking easy.
Source:http://www.rakskitchen.net/
Follow her on Youtube, G+ and Pinterest.
12. Food flavors by Shilpi:
Shilpi is from the city of Jhansi and is currently settled in California. Indian vegetarian
recipes, quick snack recipes are her blog’s highlight. She has been actively blogging for 3
years now and has started to vlog at early stages itself. Her YouTube channel has video
tutorials for all her recipes.
Source: http://foodsandflavorsbyshilpi.com/
Follow her on YouTube and G+.
13. Chitra’s Food Blog
Chitra started her food blogging journey in 2009 in the name ‘Ratatouille-Anyone can cook’
later on moved to a website chitrasfoodbook.com in 2013. Having born in south India, her
blog features recipe posts on daily recipes cooked in different styles of south Indian cooking.
Although she is a specialist of south Indian recipes she also provides recipes from other states
and countries as well. If you like south Indian food with interstate and intercontinental taste,
you must try this blog. Her occasional posts on tips-tips segment and cooking basics will
interest you if you always wondered what went wrong when I followed the recipe right.
Her blog demonstrates cooking step by step photo tutorials and how-to video tutorials is
where cracks the cooking code. Must mention her segment on no garlic no onion recipes is
quite an attraction.
Source: http://www.chitrasfoodbook.com/
Follow her on Youtube, G+ and Pinterest.
14. Vegan Richa
This blog is maintained by Ms.RichaHingle who is a specialist of vegetarian tea time snacks.

Her recipes include a lot of gluten free alternatives. She has experimented on various types
of breads, cookies, cakes breakfast bakes and more. If you are a vegan, you should try her
blog.
Source: http://www.veganricha.com/
Follow her on Pinterest and Instagram.
15. Cosmopolitan Currymania
This blog is authored by Purabi. Through her blog she resurrects those dying or almost
forgotten Indian dishes. She has tried her hands on Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese
ingredients and has shared it on her blog. Visit her blog if you are intrigued by
using International ingredients in Indian dishes.
Source: http://www.cosmopolitancurrymania.com/
Follow her on Food Gawker and Taste spotting.
16. Madhura’s Recipe:
Madhura started blogging in 2007 after moving to USA. Her blog has recipe for everybody.
Be it non-vegetarian, vegetarian, bakes, Maharashtrain recipes and much more. All her recipe
descriptions are supported with a video tutorial.
Source: http://www.madhurasrecipe.com/
17. Indian Healthy Recipes:
Swasthi, the author of this blog is born in Andhra Pradesh raised in Bangalore and is
currently residing in Singapore. Her blog has healthy cooking recipes and restaurant worthy
recipes with alternatives for unhealthy ingredients. Her diabetic recipe section has sweets that
are diabetic friendly. Other specialties of this blog would be recipes for toddlers, kids, and
lunch box.
Source: http://indianhealthyrecipes.com/
18. Archana’s Kitchen:
ArchanaDoshi is the woman behind arhanaskitchen.com. Her blog is very simple yet very
informative if you are in look out for tips on overall healthy living and yoga. Her ingredient
based recipes is refreshing and enlightening. Weekly meal plans shows how innovative one
can cook their daily meals.
Source: http://www.archanaskitchen.com/
19. Jeyashri’s Kitchen:
Jeyashri’s kitchen is authored by Jeyashri Suresh. Born and raised in Madurai, Tamil Nadu,
she has always been interested in cooking. Right from her school days she has tried her hands
on cooking while helping her mother and grandmother. After moving to Singapore in the year
2009 and becoming a mother she started sharing her recipes through her blog. The ‘Recipes
for Guests’ section has a complete 3 course and 4 course meal. For out of the box
and innovative cooking recipes you must try her recipes.
Source: http://www.jeyashriskitchen.com/
20. Sinfully Spicy:
Delhi based woman currently in Las Vegas, Tanvi showcases her love for spices, fruit
extracts, edible oils & anything and everything which infuses aroma into food
through Sinfully Spicy. Blogs on both vegetarian and non-vegetarian recipe blog has
beautiful pictures that will make your mouth water by just looking at it.
The above listed food bloggers have not only been cooking well but have also taken the smart
route to reach out to food lovers by the clever usage of responsive designs and optimized
blogs. And if you are still here you should go try one of the amazing recipes of these
awesome food bloggers and share your picture with us
aficionados who are leaving no stone unturned to bring the world of flavour to greater
heights.
Here are our top food bloggers in India, ranked from one to ten based on their Instagram
follower count, who have put their best food forward and given us some major goals:
#1: RISHABH MITTAL

Instagram follower count: 702k

Personal blog: Grubzon
Meet Rishabh Mittal, a food blogger based in Mumbai. His love for food brought him here,
which he turned into a full-time profession within no time. From mouthwatering dishes to
delectable desserts, from street style food to gourmets, Rishabh Mittal blogs about food in
Mumbai and beyond. He reviews the food at restaurants, with his Instagram feed full of the
best delicacies available in India. Not only has he explored the city classics, but also has
actively reviewed cuisines that travel across nations. With his quality content, Rishabh has
managed to gather quite a lot of attention and appreciation, making it to the top of the list of
the best bloggers in the country.
#2: RONAK RAJANI


Personal blog: Mumbai Foodie
Making people’s feed exciting and flavoursome is RonakRajani, a food blogger hailing from
the land of Mumbai. He has been influencing through food for years now, highlighting some
delectable food across the Mumbai city. He reviews food joints nestled in Mumbai and
beyond, and has also been travelling overseas lately to bring the world’s food to his
Instagram page. He also writes blogs about the culinary industry and has been in
collaboration with many food brands, small and large. His creative bend of mind is what
separates him from the rest of the lot, and his engagement clearly reflects in his huge follower
base. So, follow him if you are a food enthusiast!
#3: KARAN DUA


“Just wanna eat the whole world” is what the profile of Karan Dua reads. Hailing from the
capital, he has been blogging for years now, reflecting his love for street food. He has
covered all the major and minor food spots in the whole of Delhi, keeping his fellow food
aficionados updated with all that is new and full of zest. Not only does he review all the food
in the world, but is also a home cook, sharing his recipes with his audiences. Over time, he
has transformed his love for food into engaging content, topped up with some great
photography skills. Check out the videos of this “Dil se Foodie” and follow him!
#4: SALONI KUKREJA

Personal blog: Food of Mumbai
Meet SaloniKukreja, a Mumbai based blogger who has become one of the most influential
connoisseurs in the country, sharing her own experiences with food and beyond. She started
blogging three years back, and her hard work and creativity have led her to be one of the top
food bloggers in India. In addition to sharing her food experiences with the world, Saloni
also updates her blog with the latest food trends. Also, she encompasses an online recipe
book in her blog, consisting of some mouthwatering recipes. Her exceptional content and
style of presentation have landed her into collaboration with brands like Natch Snacks, Kotex
India, and Kellogs. So, follow her for some delectable insights!
CHAPTER 5
DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Q1. What is your gender?
Ratio
Male
Female
INTERPRETATION
Ratio
Male 25%
Female 25%
Male
Female
Q2. What is your age?

30%
25%
20%
15% MEN
WOMEN
10%
5%
0%
21-25 26-31 32-40 40+
MEN WOMEN
21-25 15% 18%
26-31 22% 28%
32-40 10% 12%
40+ 5% 10%
INTERPRETATION
According to the survey out of 50% MEN are age group21-25:15%, age group 26-31:22%,
age group 32-40:10%, age group 40+:5%. Women age group 21-25:18%, age group 26-
31:28%, age group 32-40:12% age group 40+:10%.
21-25
26-31
32-40
3. Do you tend to following food pages that social media platforms recommend to you?
25%
20%
15%
MEN
WOMEN
10%
5%
0%
Yes No
MEN WOMEN
Yes 20% 18%
No 10% 12%
INTERPRETATION
According to the survey out of 50% MEN said Yes-20%, No-10%. Women said Yes-18%, No-
12%.
Yes
No
4. Are the adverts on social media relevant to you?

20%
18%
16%
14%
12%
10% MEN
WOMEN
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
Yes No Sometimes
MEN WOMEN
Yes 18% 16%
No 14% 12%
Sometimes 12% 10%
INTERPRETATION
According to the survey out of 50% MEN said Yes-18%, No-14%, Sometimes-12%. Women
said Yes-16%, No-12%, Sometimes-10%.
Yes
No
Sometimes
5. As a customer, Do you think investing in social media adverts are worth it?
25%
20%
15%
MEN
WOMEN
10%
5%
0%
Yes No
MEN WOMEN
Yes 20% 18%
No 16% 15%
INTERPRETATION
According to the survey out of 50% MEN said Yes -20%, No -16%. Women said Yes -18%, No
-15%.
Yes
No
6. Do you follow social media influencers? A social media influencer is an individual who
has access to a large audience and can persuade others by virtue of their authenticity and
resources (celebrities, coaches, athletes, health and fitness role models, etc.)
20%
18%
16%
14%
12%
10% MEN
WOMEN
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
Yes No Sometimes
MEN WOMEN
Yes 18% 16%
No 5% 10%
Sometimes 12% 10%
INTERPRETATION
According to the survey out of 50% MEN said Yes-18%, No-5%, and Sometimes-12%. Women
said Yes-16%, No-10%, and Sometimes-10%.
Yes
No
Sometimes
7. How likely are you to try a diet promoted by a social media influencer?
25%
20%
15%
MEN
WOMEN
10%
5%
0%
Very frequently Frequently Occasionally Rarely Never
MEN WOMEN
Very frequently 20% 18%
Frequently 14% 16%
Occasionally 12% 10%
Rarely 8% 5%
Never 10% 12%
INTERPRETATION
According to the survey out of 50% MEN said Very frequently-20%, Frequently-14%,
Occasionally-12%, Rarely-8%, Never-10%. Women said Very frequently-18%, Frequently-16%,
Occasionally-10%, Rarely-5%, Never-12%.
 Very frequently
 Frequently
 Occasionally
 Rarely
 Never
8. How likely are you to recommend a diet promoted by a social media influencer to friends
and/or acquaintances?
20%
18%
16%
14%
12%
10% MEN
WOMEN
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
MEN WOMEN
Frequently 15% 14%
Rarely 5% 10%
Never 3% 7%
INTERPRETATION
 Very frequently
 Frequently
 Occasionally
 Rarely
 Never
9. Have you bought a food product that was promoted by a brand influencer, defined as a
social media influencer who partners with a brand for the purpose of increasing marketing
and sales?
20%
18%
16%
14%
12%
10% MEN
WOMEN
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
MEN WOMEN
Frequently 16% 14%

Rarely 12% 10%

Never 5% 10%
INTERPRETATION
 Very frequently
 Frequently
 Occasionally
 Rarely
 Never
* 10. How likely are you to recommend a food product promoted by a brand influencer to
friends and/or acquaintances?
25%
20%
15%
MEN
WOMEN
10%
5%
0%
MEN WOMEN
Frequently 16% 18%

Rarely 13% 10%

Never 10% 5%
INTERPRETATION
Occasionally-15%, Rarely-13%, Never-10%. Women said Very frequently-18%, Frequently-
18%, Occasionally-12%, Rarely-10%, Never-5%. Women said
 Very frequently
 Frequently
 Occasionally
 Rarely
 Never
11. How likely are you to try a diet recommended by a friend or acquaintance on social
media?
20%
18%
16%
14%
12%
10% MEN
WOMEN
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%
MEN WOMEN
Frequently 14% 16%

Rarely 5% 10%
Never 10% 5%
INTERPRETATION
 Very frequently
 Frequently
 Occasionally
 Rarely
 Never
CHAPTER 6
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION

They began blogging before it was cool, and stepped into Instagram when it was still fairly
unexplored territory. Over more than a decade, India’s food bloggers have been raking up
followings on fresh platforms, while still staying true to their original, traditional platforms.
Needless to say, the earlier crop has seen a lot change with time — from popular cuisines to
fads, trends and movements. And they have a lot to say about it.
NanditaIyer, for instance, began her vegetarian blog Saffron Trail in 2006. As did Sia
Krishna, with her blog Monsoon Spice on Blogspot. Both are still going strong, the latter with
a steady monthly traffic of over 1,00,000. “I started Monsoon Spice when blogging was a
fairly new phenomenon and there were just a handful of Indian food blogs dedicated to
vegetarian and vegan recipes,” says Sia, “I began cooking out of necessity when I moved to
the UK. Initially, my sole purpose for writing a food blog was to create an online cooking
journal of sorts, for family recipes that have been orally passed on from one generation to
another.”
Bengaluru-based Nandita’s motivation was similar. “I started off in March 2006, just to keep
track of my intuitive cooking via a digital diary of sorts on Blogger, the blogging platform.
The blog and its readers fuelled my interest in cooking and leading a healthy lifestyle via
good wholesome food; that has kept me passionate about my blog so far,” she says, “Now I
am on self-hosted Wordpress. I also share my food photos and recipes on Twitter and
Instagram.”
That’s one way of putting it. Saffron Trail has 53,900 followers on Instagram, 47,500 on
Twitter, over 24,000 on Facebook and 15,000 on Pinterest, all of them flocking towards her
home-style, vegetarian salads, curries and rice preparations. But Nandita says that now it’s
not just about the recipes any more.
Image matters
“The main emphasis has become photography — the text and recipes are secondary. Food
blogging has become more or less a showcase for food photos,” says Nandita, adding, “Also,
video content has become huge, with the penetration of Internet all around India and 4G
being so affordable. People are focussing more on video content for Instagram, Facebook,
YouTube etc.”
Jeyashri Suresh, a Singapore-based blogger, whose Facebook page Jeyashri’s Kitchen has a
following of a whopping 3,80,000, agrees, saying, “People prefer to watch quick one-minute
videos instead of watching a detailed one on YouTube. Posting on Instagram helps in gaining
readership. Hence, bloggers these days post recipes and step-wise pictures on Instagram
itself.”
But the blogger with a 32,000-strong Instagram following isn’t complaining, and credits the
photo-sharing platform for its user-friendly interface. “It serves as a good platform for those
who don’t really have the time to start a blog or do not know the technical aspects of running
and maintaining a blog,” she says, while admitting that it does affect blog traffic to a certain
extent. A minuscule extent in her case, since her blog Jeyashri’s Kitchen still manages a
monthly traffic of over a million hits.
For her, it’s still all about the recipes, even though she recognises that content has shifted to
other points of focus in the world of food blogging. “These days, people are more interested
in learning the basics of cooking. Apart from this, vlogs based on daily cooking routines or
meal planning are equally popular. Food product reviews have also gained popularity and
many brands approach reputed food bloggers for reviews,” she says.
Bloggers today wield some power, thanks to the sheer scale of their followers. According to
Jeyashri, influencer-based promotions will remain one of the biggest food industry trends in
India this year, next to vlogs on meal planning and cooking routines. “Influencer marketing is
gaining momentum in the blogging world. Many food brands approach bloggers to market
their products,” she states.
But the picture isn’t all that rosy: Instagram influencers are coming in for plenty of crtiticism,
particularly in terms of the actual impact they have on users. A number of factors form part of
the concern shown by consumers, chefs and others in the food industry: like clarifying which
posts feature sponsored content, maintaining the quality of writing, fact-checking and
crediting the right person for shared images and ideas. In fact, ‘micro influencers’ (people
who have between 1,000 and 1,00,000 followers) is the new buzzword in town: the idea
being that smaller, more intimate followings mean more answerability and a more focussed,
impactful influence.
Learning curve
So, keeping their presence consistent for over a decade has not been easy. Nandita clarifies,
“I do not use advertising on my blog, but there are a few sponsored posts. I keep them to a
bare minimum, and make sure that whatever is the sponsored brand being spoken about is
completely relevant to my audience.
Besides that, new skills have had to be picked up time and again, and the bloggers are happy
to do so. As Sia puts it, “My experience of food blogging has helped me grow as a food
writer, a recipe developer, food stylist and also as a food photographer.”
Other learnings, like Nandita’s, were a bit more technical: “Aggressive SEO to drive traffic to
the blog has become a no-brainer if you want the blog to succeed. In my early blogging days,
I did not even know the existence of the term SEO.”
As each platform gets more and more interactive, there are an increasing number of Ps, Qs
and legalities to keep in mind. This is where the fraternity spirit plays a role. “Although we
don’t meet other bloggers, we build a good rapport through social media. We also have
common platforms where we guide each other, solve queries and other technical issues we
may face, such as copyright claims,” The community helps one another in other ways, too.
“The best thing I like about the community is a reliable source of regional recipes and
cooking that are otherwise difficult to find in books or at restaurants,” explains Nandita.
In the end, it all boils down to food. Sia sums it up well: “Personally, food blogging has
always been my creative outlet for not just sharing tried-and-tested recipes with photographs,
but also to share plates of delectable meals woven around colourful stories of the past, present
and future. Over time, it has become a competitive market and many blogs are run like
businesses, emphasising on gaining followers. There is nothing wrong with it, especially if
you want to turn your passion into a career. Food blogging can be your ticket to scaling new
heights, as long as you are committed to blogging even when you feel like no one is
interested.”
CHAPTER 7
CONCLUSION
Food and social media has become an important wing of influencer marketing, fashion,
fitness, and travel being others. It is because of these food influencers that the culinary
industry has reached a stage where people not only share their experiences but also gain
recognition and make it a full-time profession. They have followed their passion and have
made those experiences count, exhibiting the zeal to become the best in the world. So if you
have a soft corner for food, and you are excited about travelling and cooking and have a
knack for writing, you can also be a part of this realm of influencer marketing and gain what
these established influencers are achieving.
QUESTIONNEAR
* 1. What is your gender?
Female
Male
* 2. What is your age?
Under 18
18 to 24
25 to 34
35 to 44
45 to 54
55 to 64
65 to 74
75 or older
* 3. Which of the following best describes you?
Employed – working full time
Employed – working part time
Not employed – student
Not employed – retired
Not employed – looking for paid work

Not employed – not looking for paid work
* 4. Which of the following social networking websites do you currently have an account
with? (Check all that apply)
Facebook
Myspace
Instagram
YouTube
Google+
Twitter
Other (please specify)
* 5. Out of the social media platform you have selected above which do you use the most?
Question Title
* 6. How long do you spend on social media a day?
(Please note the average person spends 1 hour and 40 minutes browsing social media
networks)
Less than 30 Minutes
30 Minutes to 1 Hour
1 Hour to An Hour and a Half
An Hour and a Half to 2 Hours
2 Hours to 3 Hours
3 Hours to 4 Hours
4+ Hours
* 7. Do you follow any food businesses on Social Media? (Happy Pear, BB Muffins, Vanilla
Pod, McDonalds)
Yes
No
Can you list some of the pages you follow:
* 8. Why do you follow food business on social media? (Give Aways, Special Deals,
Updates, Good Content)
* 9. Do you tend to following pages that social media platforms recommend to you?
Yes
No
* 10. Are the adverts on social media relevant to you?
Yes
No
Sometimes
* 11. As a customer, Do you think investing in social media adverts are worth it?
Yes
No
* 12. Do you follow social media influencers? A social media influencer is an individual who
has access to a large audience and can persuade others by virtue of their authenticity and
resources (celebrities, coaches, athletes, health and fitness role models, etc.)
Yes
No
Sometimes
* 13. How likely are you to try a diet promoted by a social media influencer?
Very frequently
Frequently
Occasionally
Rarely
Never
* 14. How likely are you to recommend a diet promoted by a social media influencer to
Very frequently
Frequently
Occasionally
Rarely
Never
* 15. Have you bought a food product that was promoted by a brand influencer, defined as a
social media influencer who partners with a brand for the purpose of increasing marketing
and sales?
Very frequently
Frequently
Occasionally
Rarely
Never
* 16. How likely are you to recommend a food product promoted by a brand influencer to
Very frequently
Frequently
Occasionally
Rarely
Never
* 17. How likely are you to try a diet recommended by a friend or acquaintance on social
media?
Very frequently
Frequently
Occasionally
Rarely
Never
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Project report

CH4 THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE

CH5 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

CH6 FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

Consumers’ Sentiment toward Marketing (CSM) is a factor consider by researchers to

Right People With The Right Message

So let’s start with what can be construed as food blogging:

So what do you do if you want to be a Food Blogger?

3. Not too long

 Promoting an affiliate product or service

In 2015, lifestyle, food and travel vblogger Doug Armstrong went to McDonald’s beef farm,

According to a study, 92 % of consumers trust recommendations from others, even

Kolkata-based food bloggers and influencers — RukshanaKapadia (The Culinary

So, when a food blogger become an influencer

How an influencer help a food brand

SweetyDutta, Assistant Marketing Manager – Dineout, Chennai, who is an influencer herself,

Celebrity marketing vs influencer marketing

Social media channels and influencers

RukshanaKapadia of The Culinary Commentator is an important influencer in the F&B

Word-of-mouth publicity still rules

Reportedly, 74% of consumers identify word-of-mouth (WOM) as a key influencer in their

You can follow her on Food Gawker, Pinterest and Instagram.

SailajaGudivada is active on Pinterest and G+.

3. Passionate About Baking:

You can follow her on G+, Facebook and twitter.

Our recent investigation, published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, focused on the

Eating with your eyes

Nutrition and social media engagement

More fat = more engagement?

But why does social media engagement even matter?

Food & Beverage Insider insights

Social media is secretly influencing food choices

Famous social media platforms for food blogger

11. Raks Kitchen

Follow her on Youtube, G+ and Pinterest.

12. Food flavors by Shilpi:

Follow her on YouTube and G+.

13. Chitra’s Food Blog

Follow her on Youtube, G+ and Pinterest.

14. Vegan Richa

This blog is maintained by Ms.RichaHingle who is a specialist of vegetarian tea time snacks.

Follow her on Pinterest and Instagram.

15. Cosmopolitan Currymania

Follow her on Food Gawker and Taste spotting.

16. Madhura’s Recipe:

17. Indian Healthy Recipes:

18. Archana’s Kitchen:

19. Jeyashri’s Kitchen:

20. Sinfully Spicy:

Instagram follower count: 702k

#2: RONAK RAJANI

Instagram follower count: 387k

#3: KARAN DUA

Instagram follower count: 268k

#4: SALONI KUKREJA

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

Q2. What is your age?

21-25 15% 18%

26-31 22% 28%

32-40 10% 12%