• by Steve Ellwanger , March 23, 2021

Judging from consumer research, the home-cooking trend spurred by COVID-19 won’t be a discarded leftover any time soon.

This is also clear from the way CPG brands big and small continue to align themselves with online recipe searches and food shopping behavior to generate brand awareness and trial.

In a survey by Deloitte fielded during the three weeks ended Feb. 10, 3,000 U.S. adults were asked about their “post-pandemic” at-home food cooking and consumption intentions.

Deloitte defined “post-pandemic” as a time when vaccinations allow the “normal resumption of activity,” estimating mid- to late 2021 based on input from analysts.

Nearly half (42%) of respondents said they expected to cook more at home, while 29% said they would buy more fresh food—with 26% expecting to be working from home more.

Pinterest says 70 million of its users “actively engage” with food and beverage content on the image-sharing and social media platform.

Hence the new Pinterest Trends Badge Program, designed to help marketers identify “future-looking” trends and reach consumers with the most inspiring content as they’re planning to take action.

In the food and beverage category, Pinterest has titled three trends “epic charcuterie,” “you’re the top chef” and “bland is banned.”

Last week, Campbell Soup Co. planted its flag in the “you’re the top chef” trend. The company is using a mix of video and static Pins to promote its soups as a shortcut when people are “getting fancy in the kitchen” and recreating restaurant experiences at home.

In a mashup of food and utensils, hazelnut spread Nutella is partnering with kitchenware retailer Williams Sonoma to create the virtual Williams Sonoma Breakfast Club.

It’s a series of five events beginning April 10 in which chefs will impart ways to incorporate Nutella in breakfast meals and brunches.

Tickets cost $5 per event or $20 for the full series—with all proceeds benefiting No Kid Hungry—but the first 1,000 people to use a code distributed on digital platforms got free admission.

When Filippo Berio wanted a presence on shoppers’ consideration set for olive oil, it recently targeted women and moms ages 25-44 in the Northeast, Southeast and Midwest who were known to have purchased natural foods and olive oil.

The brand also chose the best times, locations and “moments” for targeting them on mobile devices based on data from opt-in apps.

“Olive oil is a highly competitive category, so it is vital to reach our target consumer when they are most receptive to our message,” Filippo Berio marketing manager Meghan Boyd tells Marketing Daily.

Working with Media Horizons and Aki Technologies, the brand delivered its messaging during grocery shopping “planning moments” and “point of sale” moments—the latter when people were in-store.

According to Filippo Berio, the campaign generated an overall click-through rate of .8% (compared to a benchmark of .4%), a 90% video-completion rate (benchmark: 80%) and 34% brand lift as measured by Nielsen.