Influencer marketing in the packaged foods sector is no longer just a trend—it’s a full-on marketing revolution. With global influencer marketing set to hit a record-breaking $32.55 billion this year, brands are tapping into the massive power of influencers to boost engagement, increase sales, and build lasting connections with consumers.
But the game has shifted. No longer are big-name celebrities the sole influencers driving results—now, micro and nano influencers are stepping in to deliver authentic, niche content that resonates with loyal, niche audiences.
Take Frito-Lay, for instance. They needed something bold to launch their Mac N’ Cheetos—essentially macaroni and cheese nuggets coated in Cheeto dust—without getting lost in the clutter. The answer? A show-stopping unboxing experience. Instead of mailing out a simple box, Frito-Lay crafted a fully-branded press kit with high-tech interaction, including a toaster oven, Mac N’ Cheetos, dry ice, and more.
The result? A social media explosion. 30 influencers shared their excitement, generating 1.3 million impressions and a buzz that continued to grow.
Want to know the strategy behind this campaign’s success? Keep reading to find out how to turn influencer marketing for your packaged foods brand into a viral sensation!
1. Creating Irresistible, “Unboxing” Experiences
When it comes to getting noticed in the crowded world of packaged foods, simply sending free product samples to influencers often falls flat. Why? Because food bloggers and influencers are inundated with products to review—most of them forgettable.
To stand out in the oversaturated snack market, food brands need to break through the noise with something more interactive, engaging, and even a little nostalgic. Enter: the ultimate unboxing experience.
This strategy is all about creating an unforgettable experience that encourages influencers to share the product in a way that feels exciting and personal—not just another “here’s my new snack” post. By making the unboxing itself part of the experience, you turn influencers into brand advocates who feel more like excited fans than paid promoters. And when you nail this, the buzz spreads like wildfire.
Frito-Lay was facing the challenge of launching their newest product, Mac N’ Cheetos, a mashup of macaroni and cheese nuggets coated in the signature Cheeto dust. The product was bold, indulgent, and definitely not your typical frozen meal.
Frito-Lay’s PR agency, Ketchum, knew they needed to do something beyond the usual influencer outreach and product gifting if they wanted to break into foodie circles that were currently obsessed with sourdough starters and craft cocktails.
Instead of simply sending out samples, they turned to a show-stopping unboxing experience that would be impossible to ignore. They crafted an elaborate press kit that was uniquely tailored to Mac N’ Cheetos, one that merged nostalgia with high-tech interaction.
Inside the kit, influencers received a fully-branded toaster oven, two packages of Mac N’ Cheetos packed in dry ice, and a host of other goodies.
@markie_devo Cheetos #cheetosmachack unboxing🧀🔥 #DealGuesser #MunchiesWithTubi #cheetos #fyp #CowboyBebop #chubster #unboxing #macandcheese ♬ CRAFT – OFEKNIV
The result? A social media explosion. Influencers were eager to share their experiences of receiving the kits, and the posts quickly racked up significant engagement. Within days, 50 kits had led to 30 unique influencer posts, generating over 1.3 million impressions on social media. The buzz didn’t stop there—there were over 40,000 interactions and 8,000 shares, proving that the unboxing experience was exactly what was needed to spark excitement in a space dominated by food enthusiasts.
A cherry on top? The campaign earned a featured post in Vice Magazine’s food blog, Munchies, a platform known for covering everything from fine dining to culinary rebels—exactly the audience Frito-Lay was trying to reach.
Key Takeaway: Make Your Unboxing an Event, Not Just a Delivery
If you’re looking to break into the foodie scene or elevate your influencer marketing game, don’t settle for the basic approach. Turn your product launch into an interactive experience that resonates with both influencers and their audiences. Go beyond sending a box of snacks—create a customized unboxing experience that feels fun, personalized, and worthy of sharing.
2. Collaborating with Macro-Influencers for Quality Content
While micro-influencer marketing has proven its worth, some brands still choose to enlist A-list stars, or at the very least, macro personalities. But at the end of the day, it’s not just about the size of the influencer’s audience; it’s about ensuring those influencers share authentic, compelling stories that resonate with their community. The key? Fewer, bigger, better influencers.
This approach focuses on identifying influencers who can go beyond simple product endorsements and instead integrate your product into their lifestyle or story. It’s about creating content with heart—authentic, relatable posts that not only highlight your product but also communicate the emotional or experiential value behind it. These influencers bring their own voice and personality to the campaign, making your brand feel less like an ad and more like a natural part of their daily life.
Bibigo, a leader in Korean-style frozen food products like Mandu (dumplings), needed to boost awareness for their line of Mandu products in a crowded marketplace.
The brand’s challenge? Making frozen dumplings stand out in a sea of quick meal options while positioning itself as a flavorful, shareable experience. To achieve this, they teamed up with Later and creative agency Goodby, Silverstein & Partners to launch a highly targeted influencer campaign that would elevate their brand through genuine influencer-generated content (IGC).
Rather than sending out product samples to hundreds of influencers, Bibigo and Later focused on working with macro and mega-influencers—creators with strong followings on platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. These influencers were hand-picked for their passion for authentic food, particularly Asian cuisine, and their ability to craft engaging, personal content. Some of the influencers involved in this campaign include the likes of @feedmi, @recipes, and @moribyan.
The creators were given creative freedom to craft their own stories, whether it was cooking with family, trying new recipes, or simply enjoying a quick meal with friends. This approach kept the content authentic, yet professional, as the influencers showcased how Bibigo products fit seamlessly into their daily routines.
The results speak were astonishing:
- A 64% increase in impressions, totaling 46 million impressions across all platforms
- 1 million engagements on TikTok alone
- A 3.2% click-through rate on Instagram and Facebook, which is notably higher than the typical 1.3% benchmark for paid ads
More than just numbers, the campaign resonated deeply with the audience, positioning Bibigo not just as a food brand, but as an experience—something that brought people together through the shared joy of food.
Key Takeaway: Collaborate with Macro-Influencers Who Share Your Brand’s Story
Partnering with macro and mega influencers isn’t just a numbers game. Focus on creators who are passionate about your product and can authentically weave it into their lifestyle. Remember, it’s not just about product placement—it’s about crafting stories that resonate.
3. Leveraging Lifestyle Storytelling to Make Your Brand Relatable
Sometimes, the best way to sell a product isn’t by talking about the product at all—it’s by showing how it fits into the bigger picture of someone’s life. Instead of just pushing a product’s features, lifestyle storytelling uses influencers to seamlessly integrate a brand into real-life routines, making it feel like a natural choice rather than a forced advertisement.
For packaged food brands, this strategy is especially effective when targeting specific demographics that may not already have strong brand affinity. It’s not about the product itself—it’s about the why behind using it. Why does it fit into a busy mom’s morning routine? Why does it power a fitness enthusiast’s active lifestyle? Why does it spark creativity in an artist’s day?
By focusing on aspirational but relatable stories, brands can make their products feel like a lifestyle essential rather than just another item in the grocery aisle.
Weetabix is a brand that exemplifies this approach. They faced a not-so-unique challenge: while it had a loyal following among American and European expats in the GCC region, it wasn’t connecting as well with other cultural groups—especially young parents.
To fix this, the brand needed a strategy that went beyond generic PR efforts and instead made Weetabix feel relevant, inspiring, and essential to a broader audience.
Enter Havas PR Dubai, who crafted the Super Mornings campaign—a lifestyle-driven approach that positioned Weetabix as the breakfast choice for women with superpowers. The campaign didn’t just feature influencers eating Weetabix; it celebrated their identities and daily routines, making the product feel like a key ingredient in their success.
The strategy was built around four aspirational personas:
- Super Mom – The multitasking parent who needs a nutritious, quick breakfast for her family.
- Super Boss – The career-driven powerhouse who starts her day with the fuel to take on the world.
- Super Creative – The artist or innovator who needs the right energy to stay inspired.
- Super Sporty – The fitness enthusiast who relies on Weetabix for pre- or post-workout sustenance.
To bring this concept to life, eight female influencers were chosen—each embodying one of these personas. Instead of typical “here’s my breakfast” posts, their content focused on why Weetabix was an essential part of their morning.
The campaign extended beyond Instagram, incorporating radio sponsorships, magazine advertorials, and even a live dance event at a fitness studio, ensuring that Weetabix was seen not just as a breakfast food, but as a lifestyle choice.
By using influencers to tell real-life, value-driven stories rather than just pushing product features, the campaign successfully repositioned Weetabix for a new audience.
- 6.3 million total impressions
- 3.3 million reach
- 353,000 total interactions
- $317,545 in earned media value (EMV)
- 814,184 total likes
- 4,035 comments
More importantly, the campaign drove traffic directly to Weetabix Arabia’s page, showing clear consumer interest and curiosity about the product.
Key Takeaway: Use Influencers to Tell Lifestyle Stories, Not Just Sell Products
If you want to reach new demographics or reposition your brand, don’t just talk about what your product is—show why it matters. Partner with influencers who can authentically incorporate your product into meaningful lifestyle narratives, making it feel indispensable rather than optional.
4. Synchronizing Influencer Posts for Maximum Impact
In influencer marketing, timing is everything. But when you have 70 influencers spreading your message across multiple platforms, the coordination required to make it all happen can seem like a logistical nightmare. Enter: the power of synchronized influencer campaigns.
This strategy goes beyond just organizing individual influencer posts—it involves timing them all to go live at the same moment, creating a wave of simultaneous brand exposure that can’t be ignored.
For packaged food brands looking to create a massive buzz, this technique is perfect for driving massive awareness in a short window. By aligning influencers to post on the same day, brands can create a sense of unified excitement, encouraging their audience to join the movement or act on the message being promoted—whether it’s to spread kindness, share a moment of product discovery, or participate in a trending hashtag.
KIND, one of America’s fastest-growing nutrition bar brands, had a unique mission: to amplify its “Kind Awesome” campaign, which encouraged people to “spot a kind act, send a kind snack.” While KIND was already recognized as a leader in the granola bar space, the brand wanted to take its influencer marketing to the next level by making sure the message felt genuine and widespread, rather than just an isolated social media post here and there.
To achieve this, KIND partnered with Popular Pays, a platform designed to manage and track influencer campaigns. With 70 influencers already on board, the challenge became about making sure all the influencers posted about the #KindAwesome campaign on the same day, ensuring a coordinated, massive impact.
Through Pop Pays’ platform, KIND was able to manage this massive influencer network, organizing posts and making sure every influencer was aligned with the same messaging, hashtags, and timing. The synchronized posts all appeared across platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, showcasing a combination of KIND products being shared in tandem with messages of kindness, gratitude, and community spirit.
The results of this synchronized influencer push were exactly what KIND had hoped for:
- 11.9 million total followers reached
- 70 influencer posts on the same day
- A cohesive message shared across multiple platforms
Key Takeaway: Synchronize Your Influencer Posts for Unmatched Impact
If you’re looking to create a viral moment for your packaged food brand, synchronize your influencer content. By ensuring all your influencers post at the same time, you can generate a massive wave of brand awareness, increase engagement, and make your campaign feel like a movement rather than just a marketing effort.
5. Amplifying Brand Visibility with Cross-Promoted Instagram Collabs
Growing a brand’s presence on Instagram isn’t just about churning out content—it’s about strategic amplification. One of the most effective ways to maximize reach without doubling the workload? Cross-promoted Instagram collaborations.
Unlike standard influencer partnerships where creators post about a product on their own channels, these types of Instagram collabs allow both the brand and the influencer to share the same post on their respective pages. This means one piece of content appears in front of both audiences simultaneously—exponentially increasing reach, engagement, and credibility.
For packaged food brands, this strategy is a game-changer. Instead of relying solely on influencers to drive brand awareness, collab posts ensure that engagement happens directly on the brand’s page too.
When Fresh Del Monte set out to expand its audience and elevate its Instagram presence, they turned to Foodie Tribe for exactly this approach – they wanted a smarter way to integrate influencers into their marketing strategy.
So, rather than just commissioning influencer posts, they implemented a cross-promotion model, ensuring that influencer-generated content was not only posted on creators’ profiles but also co-hosted on Fresh Del Monte’s own Instagram page through the Instagram Collab feature.
The strategy was put to the test through two major campaigns:
- The Honeyglow® Pineapple campaign – Focused on showcasing the product’s superior sweetness and freshness.
- The Del Monte x Kung Fu Panda collaboration – A playful tie-in with the popular animated franchise, driving engagement among families and younger consumers.
By ensuring that every influencer post was co-published on Fresh Del Monte’s page, the campaign maximized brand visibility, engagement, and trust.
The results were proof that cross-promotion pays off…
Honeyglow® Pineapple Campaign:
- 180.5K+ Reach
- 199.2K+ Impressions
- 11.4K+ Engagement
- 6% Engagement Rate
Del Monte x Kung Fu Panda
- 270.7K+ Reach
- 225.6K+ Impressions
- 21.7K+ Engagement
- 8% Engagement Rate
By leveraging co-branded Instagram posts, Fresh Del Monte didn’t just increase reach—they also strengthened their owned content strategy, filling their feed with high-quality influencer content that felt organic and engaging. The high engagement rates (up to 8%) further proved that audiences resonated with the content, making this approach a repeatable success for future campaigns.
Key Takeaway: Boost Your Brand’s Presence with Instagram Collabs
If your goal is to grow your Instagram audience while maintaining authenticity, cross-promoted collaborations should be at the top of your playbook. Instead of just having influencers post about your brand, work with them to share content together—ensuring that every post reaches both of your audiences.
6. Using User-Generated Content To Build Brand Trust
For packaged food brands, selling a product isn’t just about listing its benefits—it’s about showing how it fits into everyday life. And what better way to do that than by letting real people tell the story? User-generated content (UGC) campaigns harness the power of everyday moments, making a product feel less like a corporate push and more like an organic part of a consumer’s routine.
Unlike traditional influencer marketing where creators post a one-off promotional image, UGC-focused strategies encourage influencers to share authentic, relatable experiences with a product—whether it’s through a series of photos, personal stories, or real-life testimonials. This makes the content more engaging, believable, and highly shareable, giving brands a steady flow of genuine endorsements from real consumers.
Kellogg’s perfectly used this strategy to marketing success. When the brand launched a new range of cornflakes, they needed more than just standard influencer posts—they wanted authentic breakfast moments that felt real, inviting, and family-friendly.
To achieve this, Kellogg’s partnered with Narrators, a platform specializing in micro-influencer campaigns. Instead of relying on a few high-profile influencers, they worked with 35 micro-influencers to generate content that showcased how Kellogg’s cereals fit into their daily routines.
Each influencer was tasked with creating a carousel post on Instagram—featuring at least three images that highlighted their real-life breakfast experience with the product. The posts didn’t just showcase a box of cereal; they included:
- Kids enjoying their morning bowl
- Personalized cereal creations with fruit and toppings
- Busy parents making quick, nutritious breakfasts
The campaign leaned heavily on storytelling through visuals, making it feel like a collection of snapshots from real mornings rather than staged brand promotions. The captions also played a key role, featuring personal testimonials on why the influencers (and their kids) loved the product, as well as highlighting its health benefits.
Through this strategy, Kellogg’s saw significant engagement and reach:
- 35 authentic pieces of influencer-generated content
- 1.1M+ total reach
- 26K+ engagements
Beyond just metrics, the real win was the multiple shareable assets created for Kellogg’s digital channels.
Key Takeaway: Use UGC to Make Your Brand Feel More Relatable
For packaged food brands, micro-influencer-driven UGC campaigns offer a cost-effective way to build brand trust, generate organic engagement, and create valuable content assets that can be used beyond the initial campaign. Instead of just focusing on big-name influencers, consider working with multiple smaller creators to capture real, everyday moments that show how your product naturally fits into consumers’ lives.
Unlocking the Secret Sauce
Effective influencer marketing for packaged food brands hinges on authentic storytelling, creative collaborations, and leveraging user-generated content. Whether through unforgettable unboxings or synchronized posts, these strategies drive massive engagement and brand loyalty.
By partnering with the right influencers, brands can foster deeper connections with their audience and achieve long-term success. Implement these actionable tactics to amplify your brand’s reach and resonate with today’s consumers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is influencer marketing for packaged food brands?
Influencer marketing involves collaborating with individuals who have a substantial and engaged following on social media to promote packaged food products. These influencers create content that showcases the product in a relatable and authentic manner, aiming to drive awareness and sales.
How do I choose the right influencers for my food brand?
Select influencers whose audience demographics align with your target market. Consider their engagement rates, authenticity, and content style. It’s beneficial if their personal brand values resonate with your brand’s ethos, ensuring genuine promotion.
What type of content should influencers create for my products?
Encourage influencers to produce engaging content such as recipe tutorials, unboxing experiences, taste tests, and meal prep ideas featuring your products. High-quality images and videos that highlight the product’s features and versatility tend to resonate well with audiences.
How can I ensure authenticity in influencer collaborations?
Allow influencers creative freedom to present your product in a way that aligns with their personal style. Authentic content, like genuine taste reactions or real-life usage scenarios, fosters trust with their audience.
What metrics should I track to measure campaign success?
Monitor metrics such as engagement rates (likes, comments, shares), reach, website traffic, and sales conversions linked to the influencer’s content. These indicators help assess the campaign’s impact and return on investment.
Should I work with macro or micro-influencers?
Both have merits. Macro-influencers offer broad reach, while micro-influencers often provide higher engagement within niche communities. A mix can be effective, depending on your campaign goals and target audience.
How do I compensate influencers for their work?
Compensation varies based on the influencer’s reach, engagement, and the campaign’s scope. It can include monetary payments, free products, affiliate commissions, or a combination. Ensure the compensation aligns with the value they bring to your brand.
What are some best practices for influencer collaborations in the food industry?
Best practices include aligning with influencers who share your brand values, showcasing authentic product usage, integrating appealing product visuals, and balancing educational content with entertainment to engage audiences effectively.
About the Author
Writer
Kalin Anastasov plays a pivotal role as an content manager and editor at Influencer Marketing Hub. He expertly applies his SEO and content writing experience to enhance each piece, ensuring it aligns with our guidelines and delivers unmatched quality to our readers.
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