Originating in the 1970s, the term food porn, first used to describe unhealthy food, is now used to express physically glamorised food, exotic dishes or foods with a high calorie and fat content.
From carefully arranged mains, plated up with puree spirals and dots of foam to giant burgers oozing melted cheese and bbq dressings, Food Porn has not only become a phenomenon between the general public, but with chefs and restaurants too.
In a generation of techno centric consumers, food porn has been coined as an extremely popular hashtag on social networking sites, particularly Instagram, to post images of appetising and attractive food. Taking pictures of food has now become the norm for younger generations, with over 90, 000, 000 #foodporn posts and counting on Instagram to date. So why should restaurateurs and chefs delve in to this trend and how can it benefit them?
Target Audience
In a world filled to the brim with hashtag-ers, restaurants can easily track down their target audiences; those who use the hashtag #foodporn are more likely to appreciate other snaps of visually appealing food. Furthermore, with hundreds searching for tasty dishes on Instagram, restaurants can jump at the opportunity to portray their food in a glamorised, attractive way and therefore boost interest in their venue.
Glorified Food
Much like professional photography, Instagrammed food can be positioned in various ways and have a series of filters and effects applied to them to make them more look appetising. Whilst making your food look attractive, you can appeal to food bloggers and enthusiasts who will in turn create a buzz around your food and even post their own #foodporn pictures of your food.
Guest Feedback
If you impress visiting guests with your delicious food, they will in turn reciprocate their delight by posting their own photos of your food across Instagram. By using #foodporn in their posts, guests can express their pleasure and improve your social status by projecting your brand across their network. If their friends are local, this can also bring in further business.
Cooking Book Deals
If you impress your followers and fellow hashtaggers enough, your online social status can explode in popularity. Your appealing food photography can become notorious and some chefs have been known to receive cooking book deals, with many publishers impressed by the buzz of popularity around your beautiful food.
If you take note of and follow these steps, you can improve your social status and in turn improve your popularity both digitally and physically.
