Here’s the thing: I love food. Most people do, it’s pretty important. BUT I also love my money, and I’m scared of trying new things in case I don’t like them and I waste my money. So the restaurants I go to are the ones I’ve been to before, time and time again. Same with the ice cream shops, cafe’s, and coffee shops. I usually order the same few things from those places, too. And I’m not even picky, really!

The way to reach people in the food service industry is through visuals, for sure, but that’s not the only way. Here are some unique ways to reach new customers and introduce them to your store in a way that they haven’t seen anyone do before.

1. Your Origin Story - How did you get started? Where did the inspiration come from? Why are you named that way? You may think your story is boring and basic, but something ignited your passion. Find that and focus on it.

2. “My Favorite _______ ” - Find staff or customers who are willing to participate in this and film videos highlighting their favorite drink, recipe, dessert, etc. Or make it a little more unique. Where’s their favorite spot to sit, what’s their favorite memory of your store, what’s their favorite decoration? 

3. New/Updated Recipes - Highlight your new additions, or bring attention to recipe updates! But be careful not to draw attention to irrelevant changes that may upset people. Have you heard of the Kraft Mac’n’Cheese “taste test” from 2016? They updated their recipe and only mentioned it months after the fact, so that there wasn’t a riot of people who felt biased into believing the recipe tasted worse. Sometimes, if you draw attention to an update to a product that doesn’t taste much different, people are inclined to reject the change and think the new recipe is worse than the old. So just be wary of this when you post about updated recipes.

4. Local Sources Shoutout - Let’s be real; the world is sick and tired of mega corporations everywhere. Introduce your local sources, give background stories of their beginnings, their goals, their products, and why you chose to work with them. This is a great way to promote a small business you love, whether they provide your most popular beer, the lettuce use in your salad, or the sauce on a burger.

5. Themed Specials - Create foods, recipes, or drinks off of a theme. Be creative, don’t be afraid to think outside the box! 

Theme ideas 

1. Holiday - Easter, Christmas, New Year’s, and more. Also, don’t forget about those random little national or international days. For example, the day this was posted (12/4) is Cabernet Franc Day in America (according to National Day Calendar) or National Cookie Day (according to Meta).

2. Your Staff - Base a limited-time recipe off of your staff's personality, whether bubbly and joyful, solitary and quiet, or loud and sarcastic. This is a fun way to work creative recipes into the schedule and make your staff feel seen and special. Or, don’t run the recipe, make it once, purely for fun, and post it to gather feedback on how many customers think they’d try it.

3. How the week is going - Whether your week has been good or everything is going wrong, these can be fun to see.

4. A color - ROYGBIV and beyond; any color works!

5. A season - Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring.

6. Your city’s favorite sports team - Pick a sport and a team you love and craft something delicious from there.

7. Pop Culture Reference - TV shows, movies, quotes, celebrity news. Be careful not to reference a trend that’s dying out and people are tired of seeing, though. Keep it fresh and fun.

Example: This Holiday themed popup from Blue Moose and Snow Globe Christmas on Instagram.

6. Showcase healthy/diet friend options - Most people want to eat healthy, but it can be hard to know who offers delicious, healthy foods. Promote your healthy or diet friendly (sugar or gluten free, keto, vegan, kosher, etc.) options with pictures and descriptions. If you don’t have any -- get some! Having at least some of these options reaches a huge group of people who want to enjoy what you offer. 

Example: This post from Salt and Malt on Instagram.

7. Meet the Staff - These work great as reels or short videos. Go around your store and quickly show your staff. Let them introduce their names and position in the store, then move to the next employee.

Example: This still post by Kol.Restaurant on Instagram

8. Employee Spotlight - Go in depth: show your appreciation for each member of your hardworking staff. One employee per post, introduce their personality, their dreams, their favorite part of working for you, etc. But be genuine -- don’t make this basic, let your staff be themselves!

9. Food History Facts - Did you know Ceasar salads were invented in Mexico? Food History Fun Facts are . . . you know . . . fun. These can be personal to your store and your particular recipe, or general facts about the history of a food. Use a mix of old photos of the food, if possible, and current photos from your store.

10. Recipe Tips and Tricks - You’re the expert, not me. What are some interesting things you learned as you started your journey into the food service industry? Even if you think everybody knows what you’re about to say, just say it! I’m far from a cook, but I worked at a restaurant for a few years, and I’ve introduced other adults to some cooking tricks I thought were common knowledge. Some categories to consider:

1. Substitutes.

2. How to cut/chop/slice certain foods.

3. Proper utensils use.

4. Different ways to cook a food (think eggs, potatoes).

5. How to season.

6. Best ratios (particularly for drinks).

7. Myth busting.

8. Why do _________.

onions make you cry?

you pack brown sugar?

Any “Ooohhh that makes sense” or “Duh, I can’t believe I didn’t realize that” moments that you’ve had are sure to impress people outside of your industry. I can promise, I never would have realized it on my own.

Take these and run! Be creative, don't feel like you need to limit yourself to daily images of some food you sell. A well-thought out and creative idea is sure to catch your audience's eye.