CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr. MANAV JAIN has worked and duly completed his Project
Work for the degree of Bachelor in Commerce (MANAGEMENT STUDIES) under
the Faculty of Commerce in the subject of and his project is entitled, “A STUDY OF
FOOD BLOGGERS INFLUENCE TOWARDS CUSTOMERS ATTITUDE ON
SELECTION OF FOOD PREFERENCES” under my
supervision.

I further certify that the entire work has been done by the learner under my guidance
and that no part of it has been submitted previously for any Degree or Diploma of any
University.

It is his own work and facts reported by his personal findings and investigations.

Co-ordinator Guiding Teacher

External Examiner Internal Examiner

Principal College seal

Date of submission

i
 DECLERATION
I undersigned Mr. MANAV JAIN hereby, declare that the work embodied in
this project work titled “A STUDY OF FOOD BLOGGERS INFLUENCE
TOWARDS CUSTOMERS ATTITUDE ON SELECTION OF FOOD
PREFERENCES”, forms my own contribution to the research work carried out
under the guidance of Dr. ANTARA SONAWANE is a result of my own research
work has not been previously submitted to any other University for any other Degree/
Diploma to this or any other University.

Wherever reference has been made to previous works of others, it has been clearly
indicated as such and included in bibliography.

I, here by further declare that all the information of this document has been obtained
and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct.

MANAV JAIN

ROLL NO 123

ii
 Acknowledgment

To list who all have helped me in difficult because they are so numerous and the
depth is so enormous.

I would like to acknowledge the following as being idealistic channels and fresh
dimensions in the completion of this project.

I take this opportunity to thanks the University of Mumbai for giving me chance to do
this project.

I would like to thank my Principal, Dr. Minu Madlani for providing the necessary
facilities required for completion of this project.

I take this opportunity to thank our coordinator Dr. Antara Sonawane for the moral
support and guidance.

I would also like to express my sincere gratitude towards my project guide Dr.
Antara Sonawane whose guidance and care made the project successful.

I would like to thank my College Library, for having provided various reference
books and magazines related to my project.

Lastly, I would like to thank each and every person who directly or indirectly helped
me in the completion of the project especially my parents and peers who supported
me throughout my project.

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 INDEX

Sr. No. Chapter Page No.

1. Introduction 02
2. Current Food Industry Trends 10
3. Social Media Channels & 16
Influencers
4. Eating Habits of People 21
5. Aim of Food Bloggers 27
6. Variety of Bloggers 29
7. Awareness About New Places & Food 35
8. How An Influencer Help The Restaurants 41
And Food Brands
9. Word of Mouth Publicity Still Rules 48
10. Positive or Negative Influence 61
11. Research Methodology 67
12. Webliography 84

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 CHAPTRER NO.1:- INTRODUCTION
Meaning of Blog.
Plenty of people who have heard the term “blogging” fail to understand what a “blog”
A blog is an online diary or journal located on a website. The content of a blog
typically includes text, pictures, videos, animated GIFs and even scans from old
physical offline diaries or journals and other hard copy documents. Since a blog can
exist merely for personal use, sharing information with an exclusive group or to
engage the public, a blog owner can set their blog for private or public access.

When a blog is made publicly accessible, anyone can typically find the blog through
links available on the blog owner’s individual or business website, their social media
profiles, emails and e-newsletters and online keyword search engines. Many blog
owners also set up blogs on websites devoted to the creation, storage and sharing of
blogs, such as Blogger, LiveJournal, Tumblr and WordPress.

Blog content can appear as posts on one continuous streaming page or posts on
individual pages reachable through one or more pages set up in a list-style format as
post title links, excerpts and related tags. All posts or links to posts are typically
displayed to readers in reverse chronological order with the most recent content
appearing first.

History of Blog

Blogs started out as a natural extension of the increased use of computers and the
creation of the earliest forms of the Internet as government military, scientific and
academic networks. Before the World Wide Web, communities of people interacted
on these networks. Individuals created content for themselves or others and stored that
content on computers that were connected to the networks. Before blogs became
popular, these communities often communicated and shared frequently-updated
content through community message boards. The term “newsgroups” became coined
to describe many of these discussion and information-sharing areas.

The earliest true blogs started appearing around 1994 or 1995 as open access diaries
where individuals shared updates about their lives, such as personal thoughts and facts

5
about events related to their families, academic studies, career, travels and other
topics. Early online diary writers include Claudio Pinhanez, Justin Hall and Carolyn
Burke. The media and public really started noticing the content and documenting its
formation around approximately 1996 and 1997.

The exact date and year of the first use of the term “blog” is still debated by scholars.
Most believe that it happened in 1999 as the natural truncation of a particular
description of this type of content, “web log” or “weblog,” into the shortened form.
Some debate exists on pronunciation. Obviously, the term describes a diary or log
located and accessible on the World Wide Web. As time passed, some people thought
that “weblog” should be pronounced “we blog” to refer to individuals performing the
action of blogging.

1.3. Food Blog.

Blogs, since its rise in 2002 have steadily been developing and have become a source
of information on any subject. Blogs have now changed our perception about the
world around us. Food blogging is an emerging subject matter in blogs. The views of
the food bloggers for a particular dish or a cuisine have tapped into a great marketing
opportunity. It attracts people more and more towards the place which serves the same
kind of food or cuisine. Individuals have found a new outlet to share their ideas and
thoughts and get feedback. The positive part in blogging to reach out to people is that
it has the chance of being heard, unlike the mainstream media. Food blogs are very
much different from a food website. A food blog is made my an individual who is
interested in cooking or trying out new dishes either by cooking it himself/ herself or
visiting those places which have a different and unique variety of food. Food blogs
have a vast impact on people, for example, when an individual wants to know about a
dish or a recipe or a cuisine, s/he gets the major help from blogging. Blogs give
information about a particular dish in every minute detail possible- the flaws, the
taste, each and every ingredient and one of the major attractive parts are the pictures.
The feedback is another important aspect as readers love to know about different
variety cuisines, cook them and try them out after which they give feedback through

6
their comments on the particular food blog. The mass impact of blogs is without any
doubt developed by the millions of blogs that are published every day. Blogs have
been successful in redefining the ‘current’ and ‘updated’.

Food Blogging.

Food blogging is a complex connection of a foodie’s interest in writing, photography

and cooking. The blogger cooks the food, clicks the picture and also writes something
related to the food.

Food blogging 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. These blogs can be monetised by the blog creators for profit.

There are different types of Food blogging .1) Writing about food recipes 2)
Reviewing food at different places or different Restaurants 3) Food and Travel ethics
4) Aesthetics concerns such as food styling and photograph. 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.

Things that you need to get started with Food Blogging: 1) Select your platform
where you want to write your blog. It can be WordPress, Bloggers, Tumblr, Medium.
You can either for their free version or pay and choose your own domain name
2)Select the name of your blog and give it an identity 3)Select the theme, look and
feel 4)Start making content 5)Make your blog search engine optimise 6)Promote your
blog on Social Media.

7
Type of Blogging.

1. Recipe blogs

these are the blogs dedicated to recipes and most of the food blogs you’ll find out
there are recipe blogs. Of course, they’re very successful but they’re also very
saturated at the moment.
If you still want to go for a recipe blog, make it theme-based, as they’re rare. Some
examples
a) Recipes blog for singles
b) Recipes blog for kids
c) Quick recipes blog etc.
2. Cooking Blogs

They seem familiar to recipe blogs but with one distinction – the blog focuses on a
particular form of cooking.
For example, baking blogs are highly popular. You can start a blog on cooking a
particular cuisine –
Italian Cooking
Chinese Cooking
Indian Cooking
American Cooking etc.

If you look for a cuisine that’s not covered much yet on blogs but is highly popular,
you have a goldmine of opportunities and stardom waiting for you.

Pay careful attention to maintaining your blog as a cooking blog and not a recipe blog.
Many cooking blogs start that way but end up being full of just recipes. Cooking
blogs focus on cooking techniques, cultures and traditions rather than just new
recipes.

8
3. Food Tasting Blogs

they’re insanely popular in big cities like Delhi, Mumbai in India and even in big
cities in countries like the U.S. and Canada.
Although I have always had concerns with that considering I have personally worked
on this and have found most of the people ready to say anything in return of free food,
it’s still a good option if you’re doing it the right way.

If you want to start a food tasting blog, I would urge you to rise above the temptation
of free food, and become a real food critic. Learn about food, cooking, preparation
styles and then, help others with this knowledge while reviewing restaurants or dishes
available in your vicinity.

4. Food Review Blog

I haven’t seen real food review blogs till date. Such blogs focus on foods that are
available, maybe as packaged goods or from some shop like a bakery or cafe. Now,
the lines get blurred when you think of reviewing foods from restaurants.

Of course, you can do food reviews and food tasting combined but if you want to go
niche specific, a food review blog merely reviews the food – think of a bag of chips
you want to review or the line of dairy products by this brand or reviewing the ten
flavours of yogurt by the same brand… yes, that kind of thing.
You won’t believe how many people would just love to know how this particular
thing tastes, what’s the story behind it and how healthy it is.

5. Cooking Book Reviews

Recipe books are very popular. In fact, there’s even a movie that’s based on the life of
the author of a recipe book – Julie & Julia starring Meryl Streep.

Now, when somebody wants to buy a recipe book, they need reviews. Sadly, even
though book review industry is itself very popular, book reviews of recipe & cooking
books and other food related books are almost non-existent.
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You can fill in the gaps by keeping your blog dedicated to reviewing books related to
food.

6. Healthy Eating Blogs

more and more people are getting conscious towards what they’re eating. If you can
start a blog on how to start eating healthy, busting myths and shedding light on hidden
ingredients in the foods and stuff like that, it’s going to be highly successful. Try it!

7. Food Blogs Dedicated To Particular Cities

you can start a food blog dedicated to foods in your particular city. Of course, it will
work only if you live in a big city. In India, think Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore,
Hyderabad, Jaipur, and Chandigarh
You can start with a project to discover and documents all kinds of foods in your city
from the roadside rehriwala to the fine dine restaurant in the posh area of your city…
people would soon become your fan and start relying on you for recommendations.

10
What Is Food Blogger

Food Blogger definition is not limited to one thing its vast, it can be what you choose
in the food arena and what you think you are an expert or have expertise to share with
the world. Some write about recipes, in recipes one can write about veg, non veg,
vegan, regional cuisine, international cuisine, main courses meals, desserts, baking,
snacks etc.

The definition of food blogging keeps changing every day. A food blogger is anyone
who talks about his or her experiences with food or cooking and posts them in an
online blog. That blog can be a website or a microblog like an Instagram page .A food
blogger doesn’t need to be a food critic, they are generally the regular consumers who
give their honest opinion about food or give awesome recipes.

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.

11
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 storytelling 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.

12
 CHAPTER NO.2:- CURRENT FOOD INDUSTRY TRENDS

There are a variety of opportunities for growing food and beverage businesses in
2019, but staying on top of emerging technologies like block chain, along with
changing consumer preferences and rising costs, all while innovating, will be essential
in this competitive marketplace. With so much happening inside the industry, what
major business trends should food and beverage companies focus on for 2019?

1. Changing Consumer Preferences

Similar to 2018, bold and exotic flavours, snacking, and health and wellness are still
in the forefront for consumer food preferences, but in an even more elevated way.
Consumers want fortified and functional foods that promote gut health, fuel their
brains and benefit their physical appearance. Grocery shelves will continue to be
stacked with products like kombucha and others that provide additional function to
consumers’ bodies. Consumers also want foods that are not only good for them, but
good for others, whether the food they eat is a product like the Impossible Burger, a
plant-based, faux meat, or is in environmentally friendly packaging. More than
millennials, Generation-Z consumers are “clean eaters” and have a strong interest in
not only what the product is but how it is made and by whom. Transparency into how
food is made and where will be key. With today’s instant access to information, if a
consumer can’t understand or find out where and how a product is made and what’s in
it, they’ll be more inclined to leave it behind. The rise of clean labels and
sustainability efforts will continue, but so will the rise of positive branding by
companies that are leading in being good and also doing good.

2. Food Safety and Transparency

The romaine lettuce recall of 2018 was another reminder of the importance of food
safety. As consumers demand to know more about the food they eat, food safety
issues are costing the food and beverage industry billions each year. It will be more
important than ever for the industry to pinpoint safety issues immediately;
technologies like block chain will continue to gain traction. Companies will move

13
beyond trying to understand what block chain is, to figuring out how to be a part of it.
A 2018 RSM survey of middle market food and beverage chief financial officers
found that just 12 percent are currently using block chain, but that number will
increase as more become aware of block chain’s benefits across the entire food chain
—from the grower to the manufacturer, distributors and beyond.

3. Rising Uncertainty

Food and beverage companies are facing growing uncertainty in the marketplace.
The tariff and global trade tensions from 2018 will continue this year coupled with
rising costs. The Chinese tariffs, for example, are creating excess supplies and driving
down other prices (e.g., pork, soybean). Other uncertainties include rising labour
costs, the tightening labour market, transportation’s truck driver shortage and planned
interest rate hikes. Some companies are already facing issues with on-time delivery
due to the truck driver shortage. Consumers and grocery stores will absorb only so
much of the cost so companies will have to look to new, innovative solutions to help
control their costs and still grow.

4. Innovation and Differentiation

With so many different products available for purchase in a multitude of channels—
from in-store, farmer’s markets, online, social media and more, product innovation
and differentiation will be important to middle market food and beverage companies.
Large companies are already looking to emerging technologies for help with this. For
example, Kraft Heinz recently opened a new digital hub to create “digitally powered
business models and launch other entrepreneurial ideas to fuel growth for Kraft
Heinz.” This team of software engineers, data analysts, designers and e-commerce
managers demonstrate how today’s digital transformation has disrupted not only how
consumers purchase apparel and household items, but what food they eat, too. Other
companies are looking to trending flavours and unique packaging to differentiate
themselves, such as the Thanksgiving Pringles Flavours of 2018 or Chobani’s new
packaging and label design.

14
5. Mergers and Acquisitions

On-trend food and beverage companies are still attractive to both private equity (PE)
firms and large brands. Many companies will still look to rising brands to help add
new product lines versus investing in their own research and development to help
save time and money, as well as reach new consumers. Companies will even
undertake acquisitions in segments that have better prospects, even if they’re outside
their traditional business. But companies looking for investment from PE will have to
remain mindful of how tariffs affect their business as PE firms are continually taking
that into consideration when evaluating prospects.

6. Sustainable and Local Food Choice

Gone are the days when exotic food shipped from another part of the world was the
most sought-after. As one of the top food and beverage industry trends, healthy dining
is built on the premise that eating local and sustainable produce is the best choice for
the body and the environment. This trend has given new opportunity to local farmers,
increased their bargaining power, introduced food items that have minimal chemicals
and hormones, and reduced the overall transportation charges.

7. Healthy Snack Items

Snacking has become a vital part of everyone’s diet one of the major food and
beverage industry trends around the world. While consumers become more health-
conscious, brands like PepsiCo are working to offer healthy snack options. Apart from
energy-boosting snacks like nuts, fruits, and yogurt, plant-based snacks and nut-
based juice and smoothies have emerged. Dairy alternatives have witnessed major

15
sales, with vendors like Blue Diamond Growers and Danone creating innovative,
healthy snack options.

8. Plant-Based Protein Rules

The desire for plant-based proteins has forced vendors to change their business
strategy. 2017 witnessed a huge decline in the demand for traditional animal-based
protein items. Apart from vegetables, seeds, and legumes, fish species like skipjack,
mackerel, and rock fish have seen huge demand from consumers. Whey protein has
also become increasingly popular among millennials, forcing vendors to establish
competitive pricing and marketing strategies.

9. Say Yes To Minimally Processed Foods

In a world where obesity and cardiovascular diseases have become top health
concerns, the dangers of sugar, sodium, and saturated fats have forced stakeholders in
industry to offer healthier substitutes. With customer preference for foods that are as
close to their natural state as possible, minimally processed foods are now no longer a
fad, but a reality that manufacturers must accept.

10. Food Has Also Gone Mobile

The tech-savvy world prefers everything on the go, and food is no exception.
Ordering food through mobile apps that provide interactive menus and fresh food has
become an integral part of modern urban life. Keeping this trend in mind, many
restaurants have created customized apps of their own, wherein apart from food
delivery, they also provide loyalty points to their customers. A number of high-end
hotels have created apps that allow customers to easily access their menus whenever
and wherever they need.

11. Hybrid Cuisine

An extension of fusion food, 2017 saw the food and beverages industry experimenting
with hybrid cuisine. Creating a well-balanced dish that infuses the traditional
techniques of two culinary worlds has won the taste buds of the masses. According to
our industry experts, this is a trend that will have major spill over into 2018.

16
12. Breakfast: no longer an overlooked meal
Rather than choosing the standard breakfast, 2017 saw an increasing preference for
ethnic-inspired breakfasts. This has led to a growing demand for a variety of breads,
spreads, and salads. Hot and flavorful cereals have replaced bland oatmeal. Similarly,
regional fruits like red bananas, pomegranates, and Asian peers have entered the food
market, replacing exotic fruit produces.

13. Cocktails and Mocktails

In 2018, the beverages industry saw a major spike in the demand for mocktails and
cocktails. One major reason behind this development is increased purchasing power,
and the emergence of millennials as the major consumer base. Big names in
the alcoholic drinks industry like Bourbon have created a variety of tonics and gins.
Another trend that has changed the beverages industry is the high preference for local
wines and locally brewed craft beers. For non-drinkers, vendors of non-alcoholic
beverages have created alcohol-free cocktails and mixed drinks with infusions of
fresh fruits.

14. Homemade Food Is an Industry Now

For a generation that is always ‘on the move’, homemade food has become a luxury.
This explains why most stakeholders prefer investing in small companies that make
homemade food available to the customers. Whether it is authentic pickle, spreads,
cakes, or Christmas Eve dinner, customers now prefer highly personalized food items
that match their tastes and leaves a great impression among their guests. Homemade
has changed the way the food and beverages industry functions. In this case, the
competition is more at a local level, and the customer behaviour can be studied in a
more direct manner.

15. Bolder Flavours Are Here To Stay

Customers have become increasingly receptive to different cuisines and tastes. This
has given vendors from the APAC region a chance to extend their market and reach
out to new consumers. The popularity of Thai and Indian food and drinks has opened
the doors for stakeholders to invest in the American and European markets as well.

Overall, 2018 has brought immense opportunities for stakeholders in the F&B
industry. It has also made clear that our food choices define the future, thus the

17
growing preference for sustainable farming, local produce, and preference for fresh,
non-processed food and beverages. These food and beverage industry trends have set
the tone for how the industry will fare in 2018, and are sure to influence the marketing
strategy for major names in the global food and beverages industry.

18
 CHAPTER NO: - 3. SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS
AND INFLUENCERS

Social Media for food bloggers

You probably know already that if you want to get new people to see your blog, you
have to know how to work social media. Building a following is all about getting out
there and capturing peoples’ attention in a confident way.

Some social networks are better than others. So, you need to know where you can
reach the people who will be interested in your content.

It doesn’t get much better than Instagram. It’s a wonderful resource for bloggers to
share their photos and personal lives in the same place. Instagram is the easiest social
network to gain followers without much effort. The trick is to use lots of hashtags and
new people will stumble on your posts and follow you.

19
Pinterest is the best way to share pages and recipes. It’s also the easiest way for your
site visitors to share your posts with their followers. I suggest using social media
icons on your pages to make it insanely easy to share.

Facebook is another great way to share new posts. Just create a page with your blog’s
name and add a little information about your blog and you’re good to go. The great
thing about Facebook pages is that you can see how many people have viewed your
posts and you can boost your posts for a small price.

I’m a huge fan of Tumblr. I like that it doesn’t take much for your blog to gain tons
of followers. All it really takes is one popular post to get hundreds of people to follow

20
you. Then, from there, you can post as much or as little as you want and your
followers will likely stay with you. It’s great!

I’m pretty new to Google Plus, but I have to say, I love it. I love how specific it is to
you and how personalized you can make it.

Twitter is definitely the best one to share content. lots of bloggers have found success
with Twitter. If your blog is mostly stories and not so much pictures, Twitter is a great
way to share previews of your posts.

Though YouTube is not counted as a social network, but it’s definitely a great thing
for bloggers to have. its love when bloggers have videos on their sites. It’s especially
great to see a cooking video; you know, where they do a speeded up version of their
recipe.

21
How social media can impact your eating habits

If you've had a scroll through Instagram lately, you'll know that wellness and health
are big business right now. It's hard to open your social feed without being greeted by
abs, recipes for colourful and beautiful food and yoga poses with sunset backdrops.
And while all these images look great, they can have both positive and negative
effects on viewers.

But it's not just the images that can be problematic, health and wellness advice is
sometimes doled out by unqualified 'influencers', who tell their followers what they
eat and how they train. And while this may not seem harmful at first, the sharing of
health advice that isn't researched/supported by doctors or nutritionists and simply
works for the individual, can affect the health of many.

How are Food Bloggers Turning into Influencers and Changing the
Foodscape?

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.

22
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.

23
 CHAPTER NO: - 4 EATING HABITS OF PEOPLE.
Eating habits of people depend upon the different type of taste of food and this taste
of food depends upon the type of cuisines used in preparing the dishes. Let it be
vegetarian, non-vegetarian and vegan.

Indian cuisine

Consists of a wide variety of regional and traditional cuisines native to the Indian
subcontinent. Given the range of diversity in soil type, climate, culture, ethnic groups,
and occupations, these cuisines vary substantially from each other and use locally
available spices, herbs, vegetables, and fruits. Indian food is also heavily influenced
by religion, in particular Hindu, cultural choices and traditions. The cuisine is also
the Mughal rule. Samosas and pilafs can be regarded as examples.

Historical events such as foreign invasions, trade relations, and colonialism have
played a role in introducing certain foods to this country. For instance, potato, a staple
of the diet in some regions of India, was brought to India by the Portuguese, who also
introduced chillies and breadfruit. Indian cuisine has shaped the history
of international relations; the spice trade between India and Europe was the primary
catalyst for Europe's Age of Discovery. Spices were bought from India and traded
around Europe and Asia. Indian cuisine has influenced other cuisines across the
world, especially those from Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, sub-Saharan
Africa, Southeast Asia, the British Isles, Fiji, and the Caribbean.

Food Habits and Changing Eating out Trends Food in East India is spicy with a fair
mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes in the cuisine with staple items being
rice, fish, meats like pork & beef – a little different from the rest of India, with most
inhabitants being regular non-vegetarians. Proximity to coast line and plenty of rains
make fresh fish and rice a favoured combination. While food in this region has had a
variety of influences including Chinese, Italian and Continental Snacks, however
fresh food cooked at home or street food outside home still rule this region. Taste
preferences have been slow to change here partly because people are passionate about
their own type of food and also because these cities have never been top of mind for
24
organized Indian and International chains when drawing up entry & expansion plans.
However lately, there has been a move towards expanding taste horizons as a result of
the overall lifestyle changes. In cities such as Kolkata and Bhubaneswar, eating out is
already a popular trend. However, a similar trend to explore new cuisines and brands
is emerging in other cities as well, such as Patna, Ranchi, Guwahati etc. This has been
a result of evolution of aspirations of younger generation, increased openness to
foreign culture, an increase in families’ disposable incomes, rise in presence of
branded retail chains and growth of entertainment as a concept with emergence of
malls & multi-screen multiplexes. All of this in turn has increased their exposure
levels and started to have an influence on the way people eat; encouraging them to
venture out and try new cuisine types.

While the region accounts for less than 10% of the all India presence for all
International brands, some of the Domestic brands have been quick to realize the
growing incidence of eating out and capitalize on the affinity for local food and
Chinese cuisine in particular. Nonetheless, the scenario for International brands is also
expected to alter soon. With favourable consumer demographics and fresh
investments by the brands, the region will soon see increased presence of both
Domestic & International brands. Most of the Domestic and International chains that
have either already entered or planning to enter this region starting with big cities,
enter with an aim to eventually move to other smaller cities. Their key concern is to
be able to build enough scale in a few big cities, so that they can streamline their
logistics and supply chain processes for that region before they target other smaller
areas. The main advantages that these brands see in expanding here are that - dining
out is increasingly gaining traction, accessibility is not an issue for them since the
distances are not much and there no space constraints which solves the problem of
rental, a key component in restaurant operating expense . Having said that, various
roadblocks are still affecting their plans notably the lack of quality real estate and
trained manpower. With increased planned investments set aside for Kolkata and rest
of eastern India, Devyani’s brands have plans to gradually make their presence felt in
this region – it plans to double the number of Pizza Hut and KFC outlets over next
two years. Hitherto not spoken of much, Bihar is now on the radar of many brands
lately such as – McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, Subway, Nirula’s, Café Coffee Day and

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Barista, as a result of its improved law & order situation. Dominos was one of the first
organized F&B brand to open their outlet in Patna – it helped that it was already well-
known among the consumers due to its aggressive marketing campaigns on national
media esp. television. With the growing development, there is a positive rub-off effect
on travel retail as well. To capture this opportunity, Café Coffee Day and Barista are
planning to open outlets at the Patna airport to tap into the transit consumers looking
for branded options.

HOW DIGITAL PLATFORM IS CHANGING MODERN INDIA

EATING HABITS?

It is seen now that a large number of tech startups have tapped into one of the
most essential, yet fragmented market: Food. Unlike other markets, in the food
industry, there’s no ‘Winner takes it all ‘dynamic. Our relationship with food is
driven emotionally. Today, we can afford many luxuries because of the
progress that we had made in the digital world. One can order food, pay bills,
buy medicines, all with a couple of swipes on the smart device.

Cashing on this digital trend, now the campaigns by the food companies
revolve around attractive mouth-watering food images. This, in the end, lead to
high customer engagement.

Now we are able to connect food producers with consumers with the help of
digital technologies. Data analytics has powered the transformation- it has
changed the world from being driven by the business to one shaped by
consumer. A mobile device has also played a vital role in bringing people into
coffee shops, quick service restaurants and sit-down establishments.

The recipes industry has also got a new dimension, traditionally it was taken up
by cookery books and cooking shows on television. However, smartphones and
social media handles like YouTube has exploded interest in this sector. Social
media has got such extensive power that a snappy 30 - second cooking video
can go viral in seconds.

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Digital-Faster the better!

In today’s fast-moving world people seek convenience and food is no

exception. Most of us eat at least two meals a day and not everyone has got
time to enjoy the art of cooking for every single meal. The best part is people
are happy to pay for food services. An exciting new service by Uber,
UberEATS deliver food from all types of food players- small to big. The online
food delivery market in India has grown over 150 percent in the year 2016
itself, despite shutdowns and consolidations by

various players.

Also, advance ordering facility allows one to access the restaurant menu from
anywhere and order beforehand. Make a selection and get the order as soon as
you reach the restaurant. It indeed saves a lot of time, which otherwise would
have spent on deciding what to order. Though there are many players in this
market the innovation hasn’t stopped. Swiggy like always has been a
trendsetter. It has tapped into the new segment altogether “Cloud-based kitchen
in Bangalore”.

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Spoiled with ever-growing options

There is a diverse range of cuisines with varying price ranges in the market.
Digital food channels like ‘Zomato ‘has made it easier to find something
pleasing for consumers who are picky and fussy. These mobile/web
applications help consumers find new cuisines based on the preferences.
Having a large number of food delivery startup is a good sign. Rising
competition isn’t a negative thing for food startups as with more competition
one can expect the services to improve. In 2014, restaurants were unable to
recognize or profile its customers. Even though customers visited several times
at a restaurant they went unnoticed. That’s when online services, providing fine
dining options gained traction and people started doing online reservation prior
to visiting a restaurant. Thus this platform on one side helped in solving the
problem of long waiting queues for consumers whereas on the other end
provided a new channel of sales to restaurants. Applications such as
Dineout, Table Walla work on the complete value chain and help restaurants
get customers, manage and re-engage with them. Such platforms also do a lot
of marketing for partner’s restaurants including SMS campaigns, e-mailer
campaigns and much more. So, in the end, it’s a win-win deal for the
restaurants.

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Being Social

In the world of Snapchat and Instagram, everyone loves flaunting delicious

meal photos. These social media platforms have made it a lot easier to share
reviews, pictures, videos of the meals guests have at the restaurants.

Restaurants use social media channels such as Instagram and snapchat with the
view of building a picture for the customer rather than an opportunity to drive
quick sales. Blogs are another source of inspiration for millennials when it
comes to finding somewhere to eat.

Thus for food bloggers, it couldn’t be much easier as they share their first -
hand feedback with the whole world on these channels.

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 CHAPTER NO: - 5 AIM OF FOOD BLOGGERS

If you have a blog, you are doing it with an end result in mind. All blogs need goals.
Without goals, you won’t accomplish anything at all. Not only do you need goals but
you must quantify them.
As a food blogger, your mind-set needs to be very specific. If your goal is to make
money (your immediate goal, not your ultimate goal), it is not really a goal. It is what
results from achieving other goals. Remember that you need to be able to set metrics
to your goals and you can’t really set metrics to making money. There are goals,
however, that you can set that are quantitative and achievable.

 Reaching others: One of your goals is to reach a specific number of Email

subscribers, RSS feed subscribers, high rankings in the search engines, indexed
backlinks, unique visitors (per month), and Twitter followers. Not one of the
goals that were just mentioned have anything to do with earning money. When
you only focus on making money, you lose your focus on how you actually have
to go about making money.
On the other hand, when your focus is on achieving those other goals, the
increase in revenue will automatically follow. Certainly, you hear people
speaking about how to monetize your blog. The road to making that happen is
not always simple and always involves a great deal of hard work. After you have
figured out your goals, you can put a plan in place to achieve those goals. You
need to figure out how to reach the people in your target list and you need to
figure out how to keep them interested after you have reache.

 Reaching your goals in a timely manner: If you don’t set a deadline for your
goals, you won’t accomplish anything. The longer you let time pass by, the less
urgent your goals will become. Deadlines force you to work hard in a short space
of time and to succeed in that timeframe. The possibility that you might not
achieve that goal makes your success at achieving it so much more rewarding.
There will be goals that you won’t achieve. In fact, if you achieve every goal that
you set for yourself, you are most likely not aiming high enough. Make sure that
you set the bar high enough to really accomplish important things.

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 When thinking about your blogging goals, remember to
 Set goals with measurable quantities
 Tie deadlines to your goals
 Consider the possibility that you won’t achieve every goal
 Think positively and try not to consider failure as an option

When thinking about goal setting, it isn’t enough to merely set them. You should also
have a plan established that tells you exactly how you are going to achieve those goals
and which tools you are going to use to accomplish that. Make sure that all of your
goals are realistic and achievable. A goal can never be something that you have
already accomplished. That would be too easy. The have to be goals that you work
toward (and work hard) to achieve so that you are able to bring your business to the
next level.

You have so many things that you want to accomplish for your blog. You want to
build relationships with new online connections and you want to strengthen
relationships with existing connections. You want to offer informative, helpful,
educational content to people who want to read what you have to say. You want to
continue to generate more and more traffic. Your ultimate goal, of course, is to
become more and more successful through your blog and how effectively it touches
other people. Try to work on your blogging goals consistently and persistently. Before
you know it, your goals will be accomplished and you will be setting new and more
challenging goals.

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 CHAPTER NO: - 6 VARIETY OF BLOGGERS

There are different types of bloggers who blogs on various variety of food here are
some example with different variety of blogs

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 Nandita Iyer’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, and 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.

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2. Sailu’s Food:

Sailaja Gudivada 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.

3. Passionate About Baking:

As the name suggests, it’s a food blog about baking, cooking, food photography, food
trends, cuisines and cultures. Deeba Rajpal 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.
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:
Sharmilee Jayaprakash 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.

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5. Padhus Kitchen:
This blog is the brainchild of Padhu Sankar 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.

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.

7. Cooking Shooking:
A curious 12 year old has a unique interest unlike other kids of his age. When
Yaman’s friends are playing with ps3 and computer games, he is busy innovating new
recipes, delicacies and making videos for his YouTube channel. He has been blogging
for only 3 years now, but his archive has quite a huge number of recipes that will
inspire anybody to cook. All his videos highlight his love for what he is doing which
makes the one we watch out for.

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8. Flavor Quotient:
Priyanka the author of flavorquotient.com is from Bengal and currently resides in
Bangalore. If you are looking for a Bengali recipe this is the place you should be. Her
blog has a lot of non-vegetarian recipes inclusive of snacks and appetizers. All the
dishes are presented so well that spending five minutes on her blog will make you
crave for Mutton Kosha

9. Foodomania:
Kavitha Ramaswamy is the author of Foodomania. A chartered accountant based in
Mumbai started Foodomania in the fall of 2012 to share her culinary experiments. The
‘what to expect’ and ‘what not to expect’ write up in her blog gives the visitor a clear
idea of what to look for in her blog. A very simple and to the point recipe descriptions
will want you to look out for more recipes from her. Her cuisine wise menu is quite an
added attraction to her blog.

10. Nalini’s Kitchen

Nalini is from Allentown, PA, United States. A homemaker and a mother of 2 kids
Nalini started naliniscooking.com purely for her passion for cooking. For sumptuous
south Indian recipes and never before heard podis follow her recipe. Her carrot and
almond kheer oven method just made me get up to make it and have it.
You can follow her on Food Gawker and Taste spotting.

11. Raks Kitchen

Rajeswari Vijayanand 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.

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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.

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.

14. Vegan Richa

This blog is maintained by Ms. Richa Hingle 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.

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.

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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, Maharashtrian recipes and much
more. All her recipe descriptions are supported with a video tutorial.

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.

18. Archana’s Kitchen:

Archana Doshi 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.

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.

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.

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 CHAPTER NO: - 7 AWARNESS ABOUT NEW PLACES
AND FOOD

Building brand awareness is essential for your business. Imagine if you were to give
out free food or drink and have world renowned performers, you’d expect a huge
crowd wouldn’t you? But how do you expect people to hear about this unless you get
this information to them… There are so many ways to increase awareness, but here
are 9 that will hopefully help;

1. Take to social media

Social media may be the most efficient, cheap and fastest way of increasing
awareness. Sites like Facebook; Twitter and Instagram offer companies a great free-
of-charge platform to promote themselves by building their brand and audience. It is
important that your posts are relevant, interesting or fun, interactive and regular.
According to research carried out by Hoot suite, Starbucks is the best performing
brand on social media, check out their activity and see why.

15

2. Word of Mouth
Word of mouth for your business can be spread by both customers and staff. Word of
mouth is priceless across all businesses but especially for your bar/restaurant.

Take advantage of your customers, there is no onus on them to sit in your

bar/restaurant; it is a choice, because they like your food, the atmosphere or staff. You
can trust these people to give you a good review, spread your message, talk about
you; they are your friends, fans and followers. People want genuine, realistic, real life
reviews that make sense to them.
38
As the face of your business your staff should be used as much as possible. Get them
to post to relevant social media channels. Take an example, if you have 20 staff
members, each with 500 friends on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram; that gives you a
potential reach of 10,000 people. This can also have a positive effect for the staff
themselves, the more business you get the more tips and hours they get in return.

3. Build Visual Awareness

Visual representation has been proven to positively influence customers and remain in
their memories. Some restaurants use a mascot, a logo or a tag line, however these
don’t work across the board so figure out what suits your business. Signage, colour
schemes, uniforms, style and consistent methods of customer interaction can embed
brand awareness in the minds of the public.

4. Promotions
People are generally simple creatures, so there is a simple goal; Treat them well and
they will return, possibly with a friend in tow. You can also give people an incentive
to post about your business on social media, give them a free drink for checking in or
posting a picture. You can also go the route of adding extras, such as a free entry
before 10, free drink with a certain dinner or free meals for children under three to
further build a brand. You can also take advantage of spreading the word on social
media by Taking brand conducting a contest/competitions among your customers.

39
5. Remind the Public
Advertising constantly is important to stay in the mind of the customer. Remind the
customer of the most important aspects to help the customer choose you over a
competitor. Location, menu, price and opening hours are the most important here.
Door-to-door flyers, direct mail and other publications (whether local newspapers or
online publications) are good ways to build awareness. Local radio stations, and
highly visited local websites are also good places to advertise and raise brand
awareness.

6. Hold an event
Holding a live event is a great way to get the attention of clients and prospects. This
could be just social like a barbecue or a Christmas party, or structured around
business development such as a launch of a new product or promotion. Holding a live
event opens up opportunities to meet with potential customers and offers the
opportunity for them to experience the look, feel and personality of your brand.
Consider raising funds for charity at your event or adding a theme to your event to
add some spice or give back and do something good.

7. Sponsor something

Sponsorship of an event or product is a solid and proven way to reach a target

audience and increase brand awareness. Sponsoring a product, team or event that is
relevant to your message and your target market comes with limitless opportunities to

40
increase awareness. An event can entitle your company to exclusive face-to-face time
with attendees as well as open branding opportunities.

8. Have a Functional Website/Mobile site

Your website is a main communication toll between you and your customers – it is
used for promoting the restaurant, giving information about daily deals, prices, menu
changes and announcements about events in your bar/restaurant. According to recent
research, 75% of Smartphone users are finding information about restaurants as they
come out, and even 50% of them make a search in the car. An online food ordering
service will definitely increase traffic. Some people prefer to see and choose the dish
from your online menu and order it directly from the web site.

9. Restaurant Menu Design

Your menu design can bring new guests or make that your new guest to become
regular. Traffic can increase by 20% if it your menu is professional. The menu is the
central part of restaurant marketing. To be successful, ensure to promote your menu
and the food on you are offering, if this all looks good and the quality of the food
lives up then you have a winner.

With the ever-increasing number of options for places to dine and shop, it’s essential
for food retailers to continue offering the best value they can to attract potential
customers. And part of offering a good value is offering high quality food and
beverages, as well as a great shopping experience.

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But what does “quality” mean to consumers, and how can food retailers use changing
perceptions of what quality is to boost sales of retail foodservice items?

Quality is often defined by where a product is sourced from. Quality is also measured
by freshness and “realness”—how many of the ingredients of a certain prepared food
are natural rather than artificial (such as flavors, colors or sweeteners, for instance).

Eliminate the artificial

According to Technomic’s 2017 Retailer Meal Solutions report, 46% of consumers

say that the availability of natural items is important when they’re deciding to
purchase a prepared item or meal from a retail store. The perception of quality is
higher with natural foods, as these foods are often fresh from the farm or made with
clean ingredients.

Ensure freshness

Thirty-six percent of consumers say that retailers offering fresh, made-to-order

options would get them to purchase prepared foods more often, according to
Technomic’s 2017 Retailer Meal Solutions report. For these customers, a fresh green
salad is the perfect example fresh and made on demand, meals like these are
customizable and exude quality since they are tailored to each customer’s specific
preferences.

For food and beverages that aren’t made-to-order but are still made fresh daily or even
every hour, like hot soups or drip coffee, stickers indicating the time that they were
made can be helpful for increasing sales (and, of course, rotating stock to ensure
optimum freshness).

Indicate foods’ quality with promotions and signage

According to Technomic’s Retailer Meal Solutions report, an impressive 81% of

consumers say that the quality of food or ingredients are important in their decision to

42
purchase a prepared food from retail, while 27% say that higher quality ingredients
would encourage them to purchase prepared foods more often.

With numbers like that, it’s crucial to make sure shoppers know the quality of the
food on the shelves and in the prepared foods department. Beyond signage near
prepared food stations, endcaps and other locations within the store, promotions in
newspapers and on loyalty apps can help increase awareness of quality foods. For
instance, in a store’s weekly ad, include information about a soup’s locally-sourced
produce or organic meats, or send out a push notification to a store’s loyalty app or e-
mail newsletter list about new bakery or deli items that are crafted with all-natural
options. Highlight house-made components, such as the cornbread in a take-home
meal kit, as well.

The good news is that stores are on the right track already: about half of consumers
say the quality of retail prepared foods has greatly improved over the last two years,
so to continue that trend, retailers can keep doing what they’ve been doing. Replacing
artificial ingredients with real and natural ones, offering fresh foods that are either
made to order or are labeled for freshness and perhaps most importantly, working
hard to ensure that customers know about the quality of the foods being offered are all
effective ways to increase sales.

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 CHAPTER NO: - 8 HOW AN INFLUENCER HELP THE
RESTAURANTS AND FOOD BRANDS

Food Blogger Marketing: Why Restaurant Influencer Marketing

Can Work

Many people argue that social media influencers do not have enough reach, brand pull
or recall value, and so, there is no use in engaging with them. This belief is a myth!
Micro influencers have an excellent brand value. This is because your audience
spends time online listening to what they have to say, is loyal to them and trusts the
blogger more than it would believe your local celebrity. Food bloggers and other such
micro-influencers are considered experts on the issue of restaurants, and their verdict
can be taken as a guarantee of great experience and even better food. Because of their
presence on social media, they can also increase your website reach and ensure that
people at least know who you are.

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To top it all up, food influencer marketing for restaurants is affordable and effective.
This is so because micro influencers such as food bloggers are far cheaper and more
approachable than celebrities even if a minor one. Instead of spending a vast amount
of money on a single campaign, you can engage with 3-4 different bloggers, cover a
broader audience base and maintain a relationship with them so they will keep
covering and posting about various events and updates in your restaurant. Most
bloggers also do not merely write about your restaurant like a newspaper
advertisement but talk about the experience, what they found tremendous and what
sort of connection they felt with your restaurant. This gives your restaurant a
personality for people to relate to and an image even before they visit it. To know
more regarding micro-influencer marketing, read this article on The Good, The Bad,
And the Ugly Side of Restaurant Influencer Marketing.

How to Engage With Influencers and Food Bloggers for Your Restaurant
Marketing

Now that we have established why food bloggers are a good investment in your
restaurant marketing strategy, now we’ll elaborate on how to engage with them. Read
on to know how to choose and invite bloggers, what your etiquette should be, what
platforms you should cover and what the payment structure should be like.

1. Choosing Your Food Bloggers

When it comes to deciding whom to approach many factors must be kept in mind.
You are not just featuring your restaurant as a one-time thing and chances are you will
be engaging with the same food blogger again. You cannot just haphazardly pick
anyone or give the job to the first person that agrees. That being said here are six
things you must keep in mind while choosing a blogger for your restaurant influencer
marketing.

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(i) Relevance

The first question that you must ask yourself is how is the chosen food blogger
relevant to your restaurant and brand image that you are trying to create. Food
bloggers have their interests and fortes, and most of them specialize in ‘kind’
blogging. This means that they cover certain kinds of foods and restaurants. Some
may cover only sweets and bakeries while someone else may be an exclusive vegan
blogger. Someone else, on the other hand, may only cover theme restaurants or some
may cover restaurants with a certain history only. Follow different bloggers and
identify who would be relevant to your restaurant. It

(ii) Target Audience

The next thing to consider while deciding your micro-influencer is to look at the
audience they cater to. If their target audience does not match yours, it would be a
wasted pitch. Go through their comments, likes and study the type of content they
write and the target audience of restaurants that they cover.

(iii) Online Platform

While different food bloggers are on different platforms there are some platforms that
you will inevitably cover and on others, you will see an increase in your following.
The platforms that most bloggers directly cover are- Zomato, Instagram, WordPress,
Blogspot, YouTube (through vlogs), blogger, etc. Through these platforms, people
will be directed to your restaurant page on different social media platforms and your
website.

(iv) Page Views and Reach

The next thing to consider while deciding which food blogger you want to engage
with is the page views and reach that they garner totally and on individual posts. It
makes no sense to engage with a blogger who does not have the required brand pull
even if they are talented. You can reach out to them of course, but then it would be

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marketing for marketing deal where both of you feature each other on your respective
pages for creating a bond and goodwill while reaching out to each other’s audience.

(v) Location

Even though blogging is an online activity, for a restaurant which is local the location
of a blogger is also important. If the audience of a blogger is based out of your city
where the restaurant is located, it makes no sense to engage with them no matter how
good they are. Chose a blogger from the same city as their maximum audience would
be from the there as well.

(vi) Shared Interest

Finally, it is very important for the interests of the blogger you engage with to match
with yours if you want a successful food influencer marketing strategy. Engaging with
a blogger is the same as getting a business partner or a new colleague, and for the
betterment of both your restaurant and the food blogger, it is necessary that your
interests match. While choosing a restaurant, food bloggers do their research and have
their reasons to choose one restaurant over another. Depending upon the nature of the
blog, a food blogger picks his/her restaurant. Mutual interest is thus a minimum for
you to consider while approaching a food blogger.

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2. Inviting the Food Bloggers

Now that how to choose a blogger has been dealt with, the next thing is how to invite
your chosen bloggers. Here is a step by step guide:-

(i) Contact the Bloggers

Most bloggers are very easy to contact and approach. Take a close look at their blog,
and you will find an email address or a phone number that you can contact them on. If
you do not find anything, you can always leave a comment saying that you would like
to approach them and leave your email id for them to follow up on.

(ii) Create a Relationship

We cannot emphasize this point enough. Understand that your food influencer will
probably be there to stay as your brand ambassador and in a sense be the face of your
restaurant for all his/her followers. It is better to create a healthy relationship right
from the first email. Value their time and efforts, talk to them, tell them about your
restaurant all this will make them connect to the restaurant better and the result will be
a better feature for you.

(iii) Be Well-Organized

Another complaint that most bloggers have with the restaurateur is that they are not
well organized when it comes to engaging with a food blogger. Send them a timely
invite (at least a week before) to any event you want them to cover. Extend an open
invite for a normal feature and decide the time convenient for both. Be well prepared
for the visit and deliver o the promises you made; it tells that you are professional and
a happy blogger would mean a happier you when the feature is finally out!

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(iv) Give Them Something New

Bloggers love experiencing and featuring newer concepts and innovations. If you plan
to invite someone for a regular feature, the chances are that they will agree, but it will
not be as exciting as when you create a special event for the blogger. This will not
only make a lot of bloggers want to feature you, but they will also actively push your
restaurant through all their social media channels which is what influencer marketing
for restaurants is all about.

In this day and age of social media, influencer marketing is a great way to gain
traction and market your restaurant. Hope this guide has been helpful in telling you
why you must engage in food blogger marketing and how you can approach these
food bloggers for the same.

How have bloggers affected the restaurant industry?

These days everyone knows the term “foodie” — originally used in 1982 by New
York magazine food critic Gael Greene, to identify someone with a particular interest
in food.
With time (and a few technological advancements), the foodie has spun off another
breed of food lover — the food blogger. While foodies are people passionate about
food, food bloggers enjoy discussing food and sharing knowledge. The creative aspect
of blogging is an important reason why so many foodies share their love with the
public; “it’s more a way of taking a consumer activity and making it productive and
creative, turning it into a craft activity”

Blogging, however, has pulled the rug out from traditional critics and industry
professionals, empowering those able to garner a decent online following, rather than
those hired for the job.

So how else has the emergence of food blogging affected the restaurant industry?

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1. Information spreads like wildfire
For better or for worse, food blogging has made restaurateurs more aware of how
quickly information and opinions of their restaurants can spread. On one hand, a
fantastic new restaurant can become all the rage practically overnight. On the other, a
deserved (or undeserved) negative remark from an influential blogger can turn off
thousands of potential guests.

2. Personal communication between bloggers and restaurants

The popularity of blogging has opened bloggers up to personal responses from the
restaurants they critique, something previously reserved for professional critics. As
bloggers walk the line between professional and civilian, their comments can be
treated as either by a defensive (or grateful!) restaurateur; a chef can simply call a
blogger and directly comment on something posted online.

3. Food critics vs. food bloggers

Food blogging has become a point of contention between professional critics and
amateurs. While critics usually work anonymously and often have the budget to try a
variety of food before passing judgement, bloggers will often come in on a limited
budget and make a decision based on a small sampling. Although professionals are
likely to take a more formal and strategic approach to reviewing restaurants than
amateurs, it is the amateur experience that “is far more representative of that of the
average diner”.

4. New ethical questions

Questions of ethics are now being posed between restaurants and bloggers. Since
bloggers can, in certain situations, be perceived as endorsers, ethical questions such as
those pertaining to bribery (do they take free dinners? Is there a particular interest for
this blogger to support a particular restaurant?) are now popping up. Bloggers may
stick to a private code of ethics, but not being governed by any overseeing body, such
as a newspaper or journal, leaves their behaviour open to their own judgement.

5. Contributing to a cultural evolution

With the rapid growth in popularity of food blogging, food in general has moved into
the limelight. Cooking books are more popular than ever, as are cooking blogs and

50
TV shows — chefs are now becoming as popular as movie stars. Our societies have
undoubtedly opened themselves up to international foods and all of the associated
pleasures.

Food blogging has changed the way restaurants promote themselves — information
passes from writers to readers at lightning speed. Despite the ethical issues and some
backlash from the restaurant industry, there’s no denying that the public wants talk
about food, read about food and know what bloggers think of new restaurants.

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 CHAPTER NO:- 9 WORD OF MOUTH PUBLICITY STILL
RULES

When you focus on earning the respect and recommendation of customers, they’ll do
your advertising for you, for free, forever. You can get started today without spending
any extra money. You don’t need a budget, a big staff, or an advanced marketing
degree to do it. You just need to keep these four rules in mind when getting started:

Your job is to make it easy for happy customers to talk about you…

1. Be interesting or be invisible.
Nobody talks about boring companies, boring products, boring ads, or boring sales
pitches. Most of your competitors are boring but you don’t have to be. It just takes
effort, hustle, and a little creativity. A good rule of thumb is to check your sales
proposal, your copy, or your ad if you can replace your name and logo with a
competitor’s and it still works, it’s time to start over.
2. Make people happy.
Create amazing experiences. Provide excellent service. Go the extra mile. Make sure
the work you do gets people energized, excited, and eager to tell a friend. Because if
you don’t even if you do make the sale customers aren’t going to recommend you.
Nobody is going to suggest their friends go through an awkward, boring, or
uncomfortable shopping or customer service experience.
3. Earn trust and respect.
Nobody talks about a company they don’t trust or don’t like. Earn the respect of your
customers. Be good to them. Talk to them. Honor their intelligence. Fulfil their needs.
Stay honest. Every company can be nicer, and every one of us can work to make our
company a little better to its customers.
4. Make it easy.
Your job is to make it easy for happy customers to talk about you. Find a simple topic
that is easy to repeat. It’s not your formal brand statement, nor is it your product
description. (Think “They give you free ice cream while you wait!” or “Their
software doesn’t crash!”) And forget the elevator pitch it’s the pass-in-the-hall test.
What can people tell a friend about you in one sentence? What will they pass on about
you?

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How are Word of Mouth Marketing and Referral Marketing different?

It’s all about creating a buzz, no matter what type of business you are or product you
have. Whether you are a dental clinic, ecommerce store, or a SaaS business. The more
you interact with people the more likely your name will spread. Think of word of
mouth advertising as a snowball effect. You start off with a small, interesting post on
Facebook. That post impresses a couple people, then those people spread the word.
Before you know it that one post is all over. It’s about creating mega brand
recognition.

Referral Marketing is marketing that focuses on targeting a specific person. It’s

intended to encourage them to refer their friends. Referral Marketing (and
other referral type marketing) is a segment of WOMM. But, it focuses on targeting a
specific person. It’s intended to encourage them to refer their friends. It’s a more
proactive way of generating clientele. As you have to actually control the referral
process and track the process of conversion (i.e. from when the referral code is sent,
to when the whole referral process is complete). Instead of doing a mass shout-out,
the idea of referral marketing is more personal. Referral Marketing is more about
creating a bond with specific people. That way they will refer friends and family.
Want to learn more about it? Check out our referral marketing
guide! Why is WOM Marketing Important?

Consumers trust their friends. This is why word of mouth marketing is the most
valuable source of marketing. WOM doesn’t stop after just one interaction. One
person will tell another, and that person will someone else. Then that person will
continue the chain and spread the word further…
Plus, it’s a good way for a business to spread the word about a product or service.
Word of mouth statistics has proven that people trust their friends and family more
than they trust advertisements. According to a Nielsen study… 92% of consumers
believe suggestions from friends and family than other advertising. If 92% of
consumers prefer suggestions from their friends then WOM marketing is valuable.
Plus, having good wom marketing amongst your customer may make it easier for you
to ask for referrals.

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How Reviews Affect Word of Mouth Advertising

You can increase your word of mouth advertising in numerous ways. One way it can
increase is because of happy customer reviews. A positive customer experience can
get people talking. When people are open to talking about your product, your online
reputation increase, and the channels you’re exposed to expand as well. This is
because someone may write a review about you on a site like Yelp. That review can
then be searched and shared across other channels. And, when other people search for
your type of product or service, they will see your name amongst the competitors.
This can then spark word of mouth marketing to occur. As you can see, it’s all
interconnected. Reviews lead to word of mouth.
For example, Brutus and Mindy were talking about chimney sweeping services.
Mindy told Brutus that she needed to hire someone to come to her house before
winter hits full force. Brutus explained that he too was searching for someone and that
he found a few chimney services online that had good reviews. He named off a couple
that he was going to look into further (increasing the word of mouth). Mindy actually
ended up picking one that he mentioned and started telling all her friends (including
Brutus about them). See how word of mouth increase just by having a few good
reviews?

5
How to Use WOMM

Connect with consumers, stop collecting them. Sure you can have millions of social
media followers. But you have to be active and try to connect with them. Sounds
like relationship marketing, right? If followers are not interested in you, then they are
likely not there to help you grow. They’re collecting dust and clogging your real fan
base.
You want real fans and supporters. The more passionate your ‘fans’ are about you,
the more likely they will share you. The passing of information through word of
mouth is powerful in influencing others. It has a way of reaching parties that it might
not have been able to do otherwise.

1. Make Yourself Interesting

Think of it as social currency share what makes you look fun/good/interesting. This
will entice sharing. The consumer will feel confident in the information they are
sharing. They will be contributing something that is worth talking about. Kudos for
being the smart cookie.

2. Create a Trigger
Can you tie yourself into other things that your consumers do or
use? LiveChat mentioned, “You can design products that are often triggered by the
environment and create new triggers by linking your products and ideas to prevalent

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cues in that environment”. If people remember you, they will continue to talk about
you. Sounds like a great way to start a successful referral program.

3. Have value
If you establish yourself with a few people, they will share the experience with
friends. You may not remember the last time you shared a mediocre restaurant or
service with someone. But, you can remember an amazing experience at a Japanese
restaurant. You also know a co-worker who loves sushi. You’ll tell them all about it
since it is something that you know that person will value. You know that by sharing
valuable information makes you valuable. Great customer service and having a great
product are just a few ways to up your value.
4. Provoke Emotion
Creating emotion goes hand in hand with creating value. People are more likely to
share something that promotes high arousal. People are more likely to share
experiences in which they had some sort of emotion towards. No one shares an ‘OK’
experience. People share the things that make them happy or upset. Think about Yelp
– the reviews are either one extreme or the other. Hardly ever does someone take the
time or effort to talk about their experience if it was average.

Other Terms That Fall into Word of Mouth Marketing

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1. Buzz Marketing – Also known as astroturfing. This focuses on getting
consumers to create and spread conversation about a product. This grows company
awareness through the use of online traffic. Influencers create the ‘buzz’. They are
the ones spreading the word about a specific product/service. This is usually done
by tools that are attention-grabbing like videos and humor.
2. Viral Marketing – the sister of ‘word of mouth marketing’ is viral marketing.
Implies that products or services are advertised to everyone that its consumer
contacts. Think of internet-based businesses and how their ads spread through
social media. Viral Marketing spreads like wildfire. For example, funny YouTube
videos.
3. Blog Marketing – To promote a product or service via a blog. In this instance,
the blogger is the influencer or brand ambassador. Bloggers become word of mouth
marketers, word travels quickly to their followers. The blogger provides reviews
and ad space to their favorite brands/affiliations. The blogger’s followers are then
inclined and share the information with friends.
4. Social Media Marketing – Depends on word of mouth marketing. Content on
social media has a way of reaching people outside of the original group following.
As mentioned earlier, shared content has a higher value when shared by someone
you know and trust. This type of marketing is the hub of marketing,
especially referral marketing.

What is Word of mouth Marketing?

Word of mouth marketing is one of the oldest, and currently the strongest marketing
tactic for any marketer. A newly launched product or service can become a hit or a
flop due to word of mouth marketing. As the popularity and penetration of internet
and social media rises, word of mouth marketing is becoming more and more
important for all brands.

Word of mouth marketing definition

When a customer experiences a product or a service, and recommends the product or

the service to someone else, orally or via written communications, then that is known
as Word of mouth marketing or WOM marketing or WOMM.

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Word of mouth marketing can be both – good or bad. It can be good if the
recommendation is positive or it can be bad if the recommendation is negative.The
reason word of mouth marketing is so important to marketers is because of it
generally a personal recommendation by someone you know – and hence it is known
to have a very high conversion rate – higher than any other forms of marketing.

For a fact, companies invest millions in advertising and marketing themselves. But
word of mouth marketing means acquiring new customers just by keeping existing
customers happy. As a result, the ROI is best when there is positive word of mouth or
WOM marketing.

This article discusses word of mouth marketing in depth – its positive and negative
effects, the tools for WOMM and how negative word of mouth a major curse to a
startup brand. Here are some examples of word of mouth marketing.

Word of mouth marketing examples in real life

1) Example 1

You visit a small retail shop which sells clothes and accessories. You really like their
collection and feel excited to shop from them again. You go to your friends and tell
them that the clothes collection of the shop was amazing. Your friends too then visit
the shop. In essence, you have just used word of mouth marketing for the local retail
clothes shop.

2) Example 2

You go for a holiday and stay at an unknown resort. You find that the resort has all
the amenities, it serves delicious food and it is very near to all the places you wanted
to explore. Now, the next time one of your friends wants to visit the same place for a
holiday, you strongly recommend them to stay at this resort because you loved it. The
resort got business because of its service and the warm feeling it gave you. This is
again a word of mouth marketing example.

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3) Example 3

E-commerce firms are known to use word of mouth marketing. If you notice,
most people recommend Amazon as a trusted E-commerce marketplace. Where did
the word “trust” come from? It came from other people. It was because every
customer who was happy with Amazon’s service, communicated to other customers
that they should buy from Amazon and the service is very good. This resulted in
positive word of mouth marketing for Amazon. When Walmart uses the tagline
“Everyday low prices” These best prices are communicated to friends and they share
with each other about the latest discounts and offers in local supermarkets.

4) Example 4

Zara is known to be a brand which never advertises. It focuses on its own design as
well as the word of mouth it generates due to its unique positioning in the market.

The above examples were of some small businesses as well as large corporate using
word of mouth marketing to their advantage.

Importance of Word of mouth marketing or WOMM

Word of mouth marketing is one of the most important types of marketing for most
brands, products or services. The reason is explained below

 Impact: Word of mouth marketing is literally the best form of marketing

because 92% of people will buy the product which is referred to them by
WOMM.

 Huge returns on investment: It is a myth that word of mouth marketing does

not cost anything. You need to invest in giving solid service to customers to
generate WOMM. However, once u give that service, you will get a huge return
on investment.

 Using Brand advocates: Sometimes, some customers become so happy with

your brand that they become brand advocates. These customers are the ones

55
 who generate maximum business for you via word of mouth marketing –
without any cost to you!

 Power to small businessmen: Word of mouth marketing is becoming very

important especially for small stores and local brands who do not have a huge
marketing budget. They can give good service and get the returns because of
the personal relations that they built.

 Negative WOMM means huge losses: Negative word of mouth can cause
huge losses to a fresh launched product or brand. When Tata Nano was
launched, it suffered a huge hit to its brand image because people called it the
“poor man’s car”. That is why companies need to focus on positive word of
mouth at all times.

Word of mouth in the Social Age

A special mention needs to be given to social media and its power because of word of
mouth marketing. Ever saw a recent movie being released and the movie going a
FLOP within 2 days of its release? Who does that? Do people stand in front of
theatres and shout that the movie is bad? Nope. They just need to type 2 lines
on Facebook or twitter. The more positive the feedback, the more the movie will be a
hit.

In fact, Social media has become so powerful, that all political elections across the
world are happening more on social media than offline. Many politicians are focused

56
on improving their online image by regularly sharing the best pictures and actions on
social media. If they make a mistake, it is plastered on the internet.

In today’s day and age, if you want a positive word of mouth, it is impossible to get it
if you do not concentrate on social media. On the contrary, have a positive social
media image with the right social signals, and you are likely to generate more positive
word of mouth and get lot more inquiries for your business. Today, Social media
controls word of mouth in a major way.

The effect of Negative word of mouth

Negative word of mouth publicity is devastating for any business. Today, with the
internet and Social media, negative word of mouth is a major problem for brands,
products, and services. Just like positive word of mouth marketing means customers
recommending the product to other potential customers, negative word of mouth
means customers stopping other potential customers from buying the product or the
service.

Negative word of mouth has a huge impact on the bottom-line or the profits of any
organization. Product sales on any E-commerce platform are an example of how
negative ratings can immediately result in a drop in sales.

However, there are many smart customers who take the negative ratings with a pinch
of salt. The reason? People who have had negative experiences are much more likely
to give negative ratings as compared to people who have had positive experiences.
Hence, if you love a product or a service, ensure that you are giving a positive rating
for it, otherwise, negative ratings will pull down the product or service and might
obliterate it from the market.

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Let us understand with a few example

Examples of Negative word of mouth

1) Zomato

A restaurant owner might open a restaurant with many dreams in his mind. However,
when he opens it and if the experience of customers is bad, there is an immediate
negative rating on Zomato or other rating apps. The net result is, the restaurant loses
walk-ins and does not get a chance to bounce back even though it has improved its
services. It might take the restaurant a long time to bounce back in ratings. This can
devastate a restaurant which has just started and does not have a good rating on these
services.

2) Hospitals and Doctors

Without even moving from your home, you would know who the best doctor in town
for an illness is. Who is a good Physician, paediatrician or best eye doctor
(ophthalmologist) in your locality. How do you know that? First, you call up a few
friends. Then you visit Google, see the reviews on practice or directly on google. Find
that the doctor or the hospital who fits your requirement and then visit the hospital.

However, the flip side is that you will immediately find out hospitals and doctors who
are not up to mark – who have spoilt cases or who cannot be trusted. You will find out
unresolved complaints about the hospital. And probably decide not to visit anymore.

This is why brands need to focus on generating a positive word of mouth. This effort
has dual objectives. One is to increase inquiries and walk-ins due to the positive word
of mouth generated and other is to squash the effects that negative marketing might
have on the brand or the product. Each and every brand has some unsatisfied
customers (Some customers are really hard to satisfy be it any brand). These
customers should not affect the business through negative word of mouth marketing
and hence positive WOMM is used.

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Tools for word of mouth marketing

There are some specific tools which can be used for word of mouth marketing.

 Service:

One of the most common factors for positive word of mouth marketing is giving
prompt and effective service to the customers. This makes your brand or product
reliable and the customer will strongly recommend you to others because of the
reliability.

 Quality:

Quality makes a huge difference in the word of mouth generated for a product or
service. If the customer was expecting a good quality, and he got better instead,
expect a very positive WOM to be generated for your product or service. On the other
hand, if the quality was below expectations, then expect negative feedback as well.

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  Social Triggers:

Social media is one of the strongest tools for word of mouth marketing. The
phenomenal success of social apps overnight shows the power of social media and the
power of word of mouth marketing. Friends want their friends to come online and to
stay in touch – the reason why Snapchat and Instagram became so famous overnight.

 People:

Customers might not remember your brand. They might not remember the product
too. But if you have the right people in your company, more then likely, people will
build good relations with the end customer. A wrong person can make the customers
go away with his rude talks and unkempt looks. But the right employee can bring
more customers with his polite talk, patience, listening skills and the ability to ensure
that customers leave happily (often, this means more smiles around the place).

As you can see, word of mouth marketing has a major impact on your business. The
happier customers you have, the more positive is the word of mouth and the more
automatic is client acquisition (the backbone of any industry). This is why brands
need to ensure to have customer satisfaction surveys and feedback in place and
improve customer satisfaction if it is lacking. Otherwise, it can result in negative word
of mouth publicity which can affect the brand in the long run.

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CHAPTER NO: - 10 POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE INFLUENCE

In recent years, these ad-hoc food writers, known as social media influencers, have
been creating an entirely new way of helping to market local businesses though
they’re not to be confused with foodies who occasionally post pictures of their meals
just for fun.

Influencers build a following by curating their feeds with eye-catching content and are
often sought out by businesses and rewarded either monetarily or with complimentary
goods and services in exchange for their coverage. Whether intentionally or not, they
have become mini-celebrities unto themselves. And while there are many types of
influencers (think fashion gurus promoting boutiques, or lifestyle bloggers endorsing
a local yoga studio), the food beat is one of the most powerful and popular.

“Technology has brought out the food nerds in all of us,” says Adam Sachs, former
editor-in-chief of Saveur magazine. “Food trends travel at the speed of social now.
I’ve definitely had the thought while strolling in Paris that, if I’ve got one morning to
find one perfect pain aux raisins, I’m going to look through people’s social feeds and
find the best-looking one with the most credible responses. I trust that more than
looking it up through a traditional guide.”

The visual focus on food has become so commonplace, in fact, that the prestigious
Culinary Institute of America (CIA) added an elective course covering food
photography and styling to its curriculum this spring. The class will focus on properly
shooting dishes for the still camera whether that means adjusting light or purposefully
overcooking vegetables to convey a more defined texture.

“We’re becoming more of a visual culture in general,” says Denise Bauer, dean of the
School of Liberal Arts and Food Studies at the CIA. “We’re moving away from the
written word toward the visual. This is our students’ entire world. They’re on their
phones taking pictures of their food all the time it’s become natural for them.” The
eat-with-your-eyes mentality has certainly caught on locally. As the area’s culinary
options continue to expand, more people have taken an interest in documenting the
offerings on a digital platform of their own.

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A recent list published by Baltimore food blogger Leandro Lagera (@foodnomad)
names more than 100 local culinary influencers, whose accounts reach millions of
diners in the city and beyond. Whether they’re posting a gooey cheese pull or runny
egg yolk on Instagram, writing reviews on Yelp, or sharing their dining experiences
on a personal blog, these food personalities are making an impact on where we go out
to eat. Love them or hate them, they’re a force to be reckoned with.

Lagera’s Instagram feed, for example, could make even the most hardcore health
fanatics ditch their diets. Lagera attended high school in Howard County and later
moved around the East Coast building his career in corporate media finance. He
didn’t discover his passion for dining until he was transferred to New York City for a
job with ESPN in 2005. “There was so much to try,” Lagera remembers. “Momofuku
was on the rise, and David Chang was still cooking at Noodle Bar. Wylie Dufresne
had just opened WD-50, and the whole molecular gastronomy wave had started. I
always liked food, but didn’t recognize the possibilities until I moved to New York.”
Lagera began chronicling his dining adventures with a Google map of the restaurants
that he loved to frequent in the Big Apple. The hobby then became the Food Nomad
blog, and, when he moved back to Baltimore in 2015, Lagera, now the vice president
of operations and finance for The Real News Network, started maintaining an
Instagram account that quickly caught on with diners. “There was some sort of
satisfaction in taking a picture, lots of people liking it, and gaining followers at a good
pace,” he says.

Followers are critical to establishing an influencer presence, says local public-

relations veteran Heidi Klotzman. The CEO and founder of HeidnSeek Entertainment
started her own company in 2005, back in the heyday of platforms like Friendster and
Myspace. In the past decade, she has seen how social media personalities have
become an integral part of endorsing local businesses especially restaurants.

Klotzman has become known for organizing what she calls “influencer events” parties
in which local movers and shakers gather at the venues of her clients (restaurants,
shops, luxury real-estate sites), and subsequently promote the brand by posting about
their experiences online. “There’s nothing more powerful than getting everyone
together,” Klotzman says. “Because you don’t just have 150 people in the room. You
have 150 people, times each one of their followers.”

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With more than 14,000 followers, Rachel Lipton (@liketheteaeats) has enough
acolytes to fill Royal Farms Arena. The 27-year-old social media and marketing
specialist started her food blog soon after graduating from Towson University in
2013. In her senior year, Lipton made it a point to stray from dining hall fare and
familiarize herself with city restaurants. Once she settled in the city after graduation,
she started writing about restaurants on a blog, and eventually launched an
accompanying Instagram which appeared on Zagat’s list of the nation’s top food
accounts to follow last year.

“One time my brother was explaining to my mom that I’m a ‘social media
influencer,’” Lipton recalls. “And I was like, ‘That sounds so icky.’ It feels like I’m
[taking advantage] in a weird way. But that’s never been the goal.” Instead, blogging
has been a form of expression for the typically shy Lipton: “It’s fun,” she says. “I’m
taking pictures, eating food that I like, and hanging out with people that I would never
know otherwise. I can be very reserved, so it’s a good way for me to be more
outgoing.”

VARIOUS COCKTAILS LINED UP AND READY TO PHOTOGRAPH.

While to some it might sound like a breeze, keeping a food blog requires a significant
commitment. Aside from working their daily nine-to-fives, Lipton and Lagera
estimate that they attend restaurant events (reviews, openings, media previews) three
times per week.

Equally time-consuming are the hours devoted to editing photos, writing blogs, and
communicating with publicists about media opportunities. Most public-relations

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companies have a list of tastemakers that they frequently invite to dine at a new
restaurant or sample dishes off of a chef’s seasonal menu. And often, the influencer is
asked to post photos or write about the experience in exchange for a complimentary
meal.

The quid-pro-quo model has become somewhat of a hot-button issue in the world of
restaurant marketing. Though there are some big-name foodies who pitch their
services to restaurants in exchange for cash (a recent Washington City Paper article
reported that California food personality Jonathan Cheban one of influencer queen
Kim Kardashian’s best friends—asked a handful of D.C. restaurants for $3,500 in
exchange for one tweet and one Instagram post on his platforms), Lipton lets the
eateries approach her first. “If a restaurant says, ‘we’ll buy you some sushi if you take
a few pictures and post,’ I’m not going to be like, ‘yeah, but you have to pay me,’”
she says. “You’re giving me dinner, and probably leftovers for lunch tomorrow, too.”
And while influencers generally tend to be big boosters (Lipton has vowed to only
post positive reviews), other platforms such as Yelp have made it so that anyone, no
matter what their profession or lifestyle, can be a critic.

Robert Wong, an anaesthesiologist at Mercy Medical Centre, posts reviews on Yelp

as a way to save patrons from bad dining experiences. Wong wrote his first post in
2009, and was later granted elite status—the Yelp algorithm bumps Wong’s entries to
the top of its feeds—by the website after consecutively keeping up his streak. “Eating
out is a big deal,” Wong says. “You’re taking time out of your day, and using your
hard-earned money. So, I’ll absolutely write negative reviews—because I have no
stake in it. They’re not paying me to be there. I’m paying it forward for other people.”

While Yelp has continued to be a well-regarded source for consumers, it can be

detrimental for businesses. “The whole Yelp revolution almost killed me,” says Brian
Acquavella, who owns Blue Agave Restaurante y Tequileria in Federal Hill. “I almost
left the business because of it. I’ve interacted with guests one-on-one for an entire
experience where they’ve told me everything was amazing and shook my hand on
their way out the door. And then, two days later, they go on Yelp and say that the
jalapeño relleno was too spicy and give me a one-star review.”

A veteran in the hospitality industry, Acquavella says that human interaction has
gotten lost in the digital age. “I didn’t get into this business for any other reason

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except to make people enjoy themselves when they go out,” he says. “When all you
hear is what you did wrong, and you never hear what you did right, it wears on you.”
To encourage a lighter approach to online reviews, Acquavella opened a new bar, One
Star Country Club, just around the corner from Blue Agave last October. As its
tongue-in-cheek name implies, the concept asks patrons to leave it an ironic, one-star
review on Yelp (“The Natty’s are way too cold,” one Yelper writes), with the hope
being that new diners come check out the space for themselves, rather than making a
judgment based on others’ online critiques.

“I’m not saying that the review system is all bad,” says One Star’s general manager
Don Messines. “It just doesn’t need to be taken so seriously. I would rather people
take it in stride.” Despite all of the criticism, restauranteurs acknowledge that online
dining culture can also have its perks—whether an influencer is purposely promoting
a place, or a regular patron is casually posting their meal. Many are even taking
advantage of the new focus by enhancing plating and installing mono-point lighting
systems in their restaurants to up the eye appeal for the camera.

“The whole Yelp revolution almost killed me. I almost left the business because
of it.”

James Beard Award-winning chef Andrew Carmellini, who opened Rec Pier Chop
House in Fells Point and Rye Street Tavern in Port Covington last year, says his
restaurants have benefitted from the online foodie craze. He recalls back to the
summer of 2016, when his New York City restaurant Bar Primi debuted Frosé—a
slushy drink that freezes rosé and pureed strawberries. The pink cocktail caught on
with Instagrammers, and news outlets even began to send video crews to document
the process of making it. (An Insider video about the drink reached nearly 12 million
views on Facebook.)

“With Frosé alone, we broke all of the sales records at Bar Primi that summer,”
Carmellini says. “We had lines out the door. Customers were coming in, ordering
Frosé at the bar, taking a picture of it, not drinking it, and leaving. It’s kind of a sad
commentary, but, at the same time, it was great for business.”

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From a business perspective, Lagera says that he doesn’t see the digital focus on food
fizzling out any time soon. “When you go to any restaurant these days, there’s always
going to be someone pulling out a camera.”

So while a steak tartare dish enveloped in smoke might seem like a mundane moment
to most, these food photographs are conveying a much stronger message to millions
of followers around the world.

“You can only fill your feed with so many inspirational quotes and pretty sunsets,”
says Sachs. “It’s more satisfying to say, ‘Hey look, I’m eating a hamburger.’ Or,
‘Check out this pie I made.’ It’s an easy, shorthand way of saying, ‘Life is good.’”

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 CHAPTER NO :- 11 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
A total of 150 responses were gathered. Simple random sampling methods used due to
time constraint. Following are the research findings for the same.

AGE

AGE RESPONSES PERCENTAGE

15 – 20 59 39.3%
21 - 25 50 33.3%

26 – 30 11 7.3%
31 – 35 3 2%
35 above 27 18%

Look at the above table it can be observed that major responses are form the age
group 15 – 20. Followed by 21 – 25, 26 – 30, 31 – 35, respectively. Here we can make
out that the major responders are college going students which are also very familiar
with social media.
Let us take 21 as an average age for this survey.

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 OPTIONS RESPONSES PERCENTAGE

YES 137 91.3%

NO 07 4.7%

MAY BE 06 4%

Majority of respondents says that they are familiar with the term food blogging. As
we can see in the above pai chart that 91.3% of people voted yes i.e. 137 and 4.7%
people voted no i.e. 07 how are not familiar with food blogging and This shows that
most of the people like to try new food items which is shown or blogged by the
bloggers.

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 RESPONSES PERCENTAGE

YES 91 60.7%

NO 31 39.3%

The response for knowing the term food blogging was great but when it comes to
following only 70.2% of people follow the bloggers i.e. 73 people only follow them
and rest 29.8% which includes 27 people who are familiar with the term and 4 who
are not even aware of food blogging does not follow the bloggers.

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 RESPONSES PERCENTAGE

YES 70 46.7%

NO 35 23.3%

MAYBE 45 30%

When the respondent were ask about the influencing of blog in there food eating habit
70.2% of respondents said yes there habits are changed by reading of watching the
blogs and rest 31 respondents (29.8%) who does not follow the food bloggers don’t
have any kind of changes in there food habits. Which therefore means that the blogger
can influence the eating habit of people

70
 RESPONSES PERCENTAGE

YES 55 36.7%

NO 60 40%

MAYBE 35 23.3%

Now after knowing about the habits lets see about the influence on the taste of
respondents. Here we can see the graph changing the position, respondents who’s
taste is influenced are just 49 (47.1%) out of 73 who’s habits were influenced and 55
(52.9%) does not have any influence on there taste. Here we can say that the bloggers
are not that good in influencing the taste of the people.

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 RESPONSES PERCENTAGES

ALWAYS 21 14%

SOMETIMES 101 67.3%

NEVER 28 18.7%

From all the respondents only 17.3% people i.e. 18 out of 104 regularly read blogs
and the same counts goes for occasionally readers. Majority of people read the blog
sometimes as an when required the count says 33 which is 31.7% of the graph. There
are 25% i.e. 26 people who rarely checks the blogs and 8.7% people had never check
a single blog of the food blogger the count is 9 people.

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 RESPONSES PERCENTAGE

ALWAYS 51 34%

SOMETIMES 81 54%

NEVER 18 12%

The respondents were ask to choose any one review between the blogger and their
friends 21 respondents said their friends review matters more than the bloggers and 26
says its occasionally but again the majority of respondents i.e. 32 respondents say
sometimes their friends review matters. 14 of them says that rarely they believe in
their friends review and 11 of them are hard core food lover the only reviews that
matters for them is food bloggers review.

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 RESPONSES PERCENTAGE

ALWAYS 26 17.3%

SOMETIMES 74 49.3%

NEVER 50 33.3%

Well before visiting any unknown place we always check the review about the place
so here from the respondents only 29.8% of people check the review rest 19.2%
people check it occasionally. 22.1% people check it sometimes depending on their
mood. Then comes the people who rarely check the review the count says 11.5%
people at last comes the people who never check the review the percentage of such
people are 17.3%.

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 RESPONSES PERCENTAGE

YES 45 30%

NO 21 14%

MAYBE 84 56%

Talking about the reviews which is given by the bloggers only 9.6% of people get it
always as per their expectation followed by 25% get it occasionally the chart here
rises again with 54.8% of people sometimes find it as per expectation 6.7% of them
rarely find it as per expectation and only 3.8% never get the review as per there
expectations.

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 RESPONSES PERCENTAGE

YES 78 52%
NO 19 12.7%

MAYBE 53 35.3%

We have seen many people following the blogs of food bloggers and amongst the
21.2% of people feel its worth visiting the place which had been explored by the
bloggers 28.8% of them thinks its occasionally worthy and 42.3% says its sometime
worthy as its not always possible for them to find out good places and 5.8% says its
rarely worthy and only 1.9% says its never worth the place which is explored by the
bloggers.

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 RESPONSES PERCENTAGE

YES 66 44%
NO 22 14.7%
MAYBE 62 41.3%

Majority of people agree that the blogs which are published by the bloggers are very
helpful which 64 people i.e. 62.5% and 15 people strongly agree that blogs are helpful
there are some people who are confused that are the blogs helpful or not so they
neither agree nor disagree the count for the same is 24 i.e. 23.1% people and only 1%
of people are in the list who disagree that the blogs are not at all helpful for the people
and 0% people strongly disagree that its helpful

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 RESPONSES PERCENTAG
E
YES 107 71.3%
NO 8 5.3%

MAYBE 35 23.3%

As we can see in this digital world the eating habits of people is easily influenced and
outside food attracts the people here are some response 26% of people strongly agree
that outside food effects the health 43.3% of people also agree that eating outside food
can effects the health of people 24% people think that it effects the health but
regularly eating can cause so but if not eaten on daily basis its does not effects the
health and 6.7% people believe that food is to fulfil the stomach and out food does
not effects the health of people.

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 RESPONSES PERCENTAGE
YES 105 70%
NO 15 10%
MAYBE 30 20%

People now a day want to try something new each and every day and following the
food bloggers have changed the trend of eating out side as people get new dishes that
they can try the survey says that 72.1% of people believes that due to food bloggers
the trend of eating has been changed a lot and 23.1% of people think that trend had
changed but not sure that it is due to blogger or not and at last 4.8% disagree that the
trend is changes because of food bloggers.

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When the respendents were ask about the social media on which they follow the
bloggers:
87 out of 104 people follow the food bloggers on instagram which is the largets
social media on which the respondents had clicked then comes youtube on which 31
people follow the blogger as videos are attractive and easy to understand followed by
facebook and snapchat where 21 and 12 people follow the food blogger respectively.
Other than that other media on which the bloggers are followed are tv i.e. chef shows
of popular chef sanjiv kapoor, zomato which is again a great platform for the
bloggers.

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 RESPONSES PERCENTGE
YES 51 34%
NO 37 24.7%
MAYBE 62 41.3%

When the people were asked that do bloggers bloge satisifies your tatse then 3.8% of
people strongly agree on it and 32.7% of people agree that yes the taste of food is as
mentioned in the blog but 50% of respondent neither agree nor disagree upon it as the
taste of every hand is not same. 12.5% of them disagree and 1% strongly disagree
that the blogs satisfies their taste buds.

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When the respondents were ask to rate between 1 to 5 how much they believe in the
rating given by the bloggers 3.8% rated 1 that means they believe the lest on the
rating given by the bloggers next 8.7% people rated 2 which is also next to not
believing much on the ratings. 48.1% of people rated 3 out of 5 which means they
believe on bloggers rating but sometimes then comes the food bloggers fan how truly
believe in the rating given by the bloggers which covers 32.7% of the respondents and
the die hearth fan who gave 5 on 5 are 6.7% of respondents.

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CONCLUSION:

Taking all the things into consideration it is found that the food bloggers plays an
important role influencing the customer. Food bloggers also post the honest reviews
of the restaurant which helps them to improve their service for the customer.

About blogger.

About 15% of people who consider themselves to be bloggers also earn more money
than the media United States household income based on 2015 census data; we call
these bloggers the pros

About 85% of people who consider themselves to be blogger are not earning more
than the median household income, but they do represent the future of the industry in
that they are at various stages of growing their business and surely some will enter the
pro category in the next year.

Food bloggers get an advantage to taste and explore the café in return they need to
market about the respective café or hotel. Bloggers also enjoy on large because of
offer they get from zomato gold.

About industry

Food bloggers are the maigicians for the food industry as it influence the people food
habit and the taste. Also the ambience of the place matters the most.

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Webliography:

https://www.indusnet.co.in/food-bloggers-turning-influencers-changing-foodscape/

https://www.baltimoremagazine.com/2018/3/19/the-social-network-food-
bloggers- instagram-yelp-shaping-restaurant-scene

https://www.influencer.in/blog/top-food-bloggers-in-india-2018-edition/

https://edtimes.in/heres-why-food-blogging-is-becoming-a-stupid-fad-among-the-
youth/

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/a9111577/concerning-claims-food-
clean- eating-wellness-bloggers/

https://www.salebhai.com/top-8-indian-food-bloggers-to-watch-out-for-in-2018

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