Instagram is an excellent social media platform for sharing work, promoting services, or simply posting casual holiday pictures. However, the space has been increasingly dominated by Instagram food bloggers and influencers, making food content a major trend. Food-based accounts have rapidly gained followers, and new Instagram food trends continue to emerge.
Foodies spend an average of 18 times per day on Instagram, with the hashtag #food appearing in 250 million posts each month. This platform is ideal for food blogging, where creators can showcase their recipes and food photography. Healthy food trends are also gaining traction, as users seek out nutritious options and tips.
Top food influencers like Food Network Star Ree Drummond leverage Instagram to engage with their audience. With over 3.1 million followers, Ree shares behind-the-scenes content from her cooking show, posts recipes, and provides a glimpse into her personal life. For food enthusiasts and bloggers alike, Instagram remains a vibrant space for discovering and sharing culinary inspiration.
Smaller food bloggers like Lorie Yarro have built a following on Instagram, too. She shares delicious recipes, and her journey with food and, like Ree, shows her followers a look behind-the-scenes into her life. Lorie frequently talks about intuitive eating and shares recipes and posts that are “anti-diet.”
So, whether you’re a food blogger with an established following or someone who’s just finding a way to get a career in the food industry, Instagram is a great place to be. If you’re looking to grow your account and engagement, here are the key Instagram food trends for you to follow:
Health-Conscious Posts
The trends in the food industry have shifted towards healthy food, with a growing focus on gut-friendly fermented drinks and dishes. Instagram is filled with content highlighting these healthy food trends, reflecting a rising awareness of health and lifestyle concerns.
Other popular Instagram food trends include gluten- or dairy-free options, and specific diets like keto or paleo. Additionally, the increase in vegan and vegetarian diets has led to a surge in content catering to these needs. Food influencers and bloggers are at the forefront of showcasing these trends, offering tips and inspiration for healthy eating on Instagram.
Getting Started On Your Food Instagram Account
When you’re getting started, it can be a good idea to browse Instagram to see what other brands are doing. There are some great examples of famous stories and drool-worthy campaigns you can use for inspiration. You can study the success stories of major brands like Walker and start-ups like Batch Organics and understand the hard work they all put into delivering great products. Many food and drink brands, including Food Network, Monster Energy, Brewdog, and others, are doing well on Instagram.
They make great use of Instagram by launching new products, running successful campaigns, and offering vouchers to followers. Instagram is a key opportunity for food marketers and bloggers to promote their work and broaden their presence. You can see here that Batch Organics is letting their followers know where they can find their product. This is a great way to sell softly on Instagram. They’re not outright asking their followers to make a purchase, but they’re letting them know where to find their protein when they want it.
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Watch What’s Trending
It’s important to study customer insights to see what Instagram trends are impacting the industry. As a food blogger or a marketer, it’s good to know what the audience wants to see so you can create content that resonates with them. You can find trending posts from your Instagram account.
Go to the search tab and select the “Food” category. There you’ll see trending posts so you know what’s popular right now.
There’s a good mix of health-conscious products as well as indulgent dishes. But there are other ways you can find new trends on Instagram. Choose other bloggers as well as popular industry brands and follow them. Watch what content they’re creating and see if it fits well with your brand.
Try searching for food accounts with #foodie, #food. Type #chef or #cook for searching for chef accounts. You’ll certainly find food enthusiasts and perhaps even accounts you could partner with in the future. Watch these accounts to see what they’re posting and talking about to get a feel for what’s trending.
You can also find trending topics on Instagram, as well. Whether you subscribe to other bloggers’ sites, use a service like Feedly, or follow popular foodies, be aware of what’s happening in the industry and how it fits with your blog.
Turning Customer Trends into Actions On Instagram
Instagram stories are used by over 500 million account holders every day. Even the biggest brands share their stories and engage the audience in their business. They use interactive elements like hashtags, and @mention or poll stickers for more engagement and easy interaction with their audience.
For example, a food blogger can share a picture of his creation on his Instagram story and add a hashtag to attract more viewers or add a poll sticker where the viewers can vote yes (if they like it) or no (if they don’t). These engagement trends on Instagram are becoming more popular as they are an easy way to increase user engagement.
Another great way to encourage engagement is to ask your users to send you a direct message about something in your story or your post. Once they’re in your direct messages, you can have personal conversations with them to build a relationship. You can ask for input on new recipes, learn what types of dishes they like to see and you can answer their questions. This will help you be more relatable and real.
As your followers understand that it’s you on the other side of the messages, they might be more likely to share your account with their friends. People are often looking for connections on social media, and when you offer that, you can quickly become increasingly popular. You can:
- Host Instagram Lives where you invite your followers to come on with you and ask questions.
- Let your followers vote for what dish you should create next on your Instagram stories.
- Share your favorite options from a particular grocery store and encourage your followers to share their favorite picks that you missed.
Instagram gives you countless ways to encourage your followers to take action.
Instagram For Food Bloggers – What To Post?
Instagram is a fantastic platform for showcasing your best work, especially in the realm of food blogging. It’s an open stage where you can post delicious-looking food pictures in innovative ways that captivate a large audience. To make your content stand out, ensure your photos are irresistible and engaging. Consistency is key—if you use a specific caption style, tags, or proverbs, maintain that approach throughout. However, experimenting with new tactics can also help you find what resonates best with your audience.
Creating a consistent feed will enhance your visual branding and highlight your culinary skills. Share detailed posts that include both the ingredients used and the final dish or drink. This approach not only showcases your cooking prowess but also aligns with the latest Instagram food trends, including healthy food trends and vegan food trends.
Utilize popular Instagram food hashtags and consider incorporating Instagram food marketing strategies to reach a broader audience. Following and learning from successful food Instagram accounts can provide additional food blogger tips and inspire new content ideas.
It’s also a good idea to add a call to action feature like “double tap if you agree” so you can encourage engagement and know what your followers like. Another way you can drive engagement and more traffic is by adding a call to action in your caption to visit the link in your bio or swipe up in a story post to view the full recipe. Adding a call to action can help the customer feel connected, and they’ll be willing to tell you what they want to see.
How To Take Quality Instagram Food Photos
It’s rightly said, “The first impression is the last impression.” When users scroll through your food pictures, creative and eye-catching photos are essential to capture their attention. Posting delicious and brightly colored food photos will be more appealing and more likely to trend. Use Instagram food hashtags to enhance visibility and attract a wider audience.
Incorporate healthy food trends and vegan food trends into your content to stay current and engage with trend-conscious users. Be experimental with your approach—try different compositions, props, and backgrounds to enhance your photos. Adding fancy frames and using natural light can make your pictures more alluring. For example, if you’re sharing a smoothie photo, place it neatly on a tablecloth and include the fruits used in the smoothie for a natural touch.
Make sure your CTA leads users to your blog, where they can read the recipe and engage further. By aligning with Instagram food marketing strategies and showcasing high-quality, trend-focused content, you can improve your chances of standing out and building a successful food Instagram account.
How Can People Discover You On Instagram?
Believe it or not, one great way to help people discover your Instagram account doesn’t have anything to do with Instagram at all. Whether you have a blog, a YouTube channel with food videos, or a popular Facebook page, chances are you have a presence on another platform, too. Talk about your Instagram on your other platforms.
Showcase and link to your latest post in your weekly newsletter. When you post your next YouTube video, include a link to an Instagram post about that dish. Send your fans from other platforms to your Instagram. You can also take part in food challenges on Instagram so that your work gets showcased. For example – you can follow the #foodchallengenetwork and #foodchallenges pages and participate in their contests to showcase your work. Or, you can post a challenge with your own hashtag so that others participate in it. This practice will make you more visible on Instagram and good work will always be appreciated.
Local Food Hashtags By City
If you have a brick-and-mortar business location where you want to advertise locally, try geo-modified hashtags that are based on global hashtags. For example, take a global hashtag #foodie and then add a geo-modifier. Hashtags will help a food blog start-up to find an audience. It’s a very effective way to attract customers. For example, if someone has opened up a new café in San Diego, he can use the hashtag #CafeSanDiego or #CafeForFoodiesAtSanDiego, etc. So people looking for good eating joints in San Diego can do related searches and can find your café easily through Instagram.
Even if you don’t have a physical location, you can use hashtags like #CincinnatiFoodie to connect with other food accounts in your local area. If you’re traveling and enjoying local cuisine in a different city, using geography-based hashtags can be a great way to even get recommendations of restaurants to visit and dishes to try.
Best Food Hashtags for Every Occasion
To get more consideration for the food posts, you can use over-popular hashtags like #food, but you don’t want to only use large hashtags. You also want to use other hashtags that share more detail about your particular food post. When you use specific hashtags, Instagram puts your post in a specific section. Make use of good hashtags to ensure that your food posts are found by the right Instagram users. For example, if your specialty is Italian, then you can use #ItalianSpecial or #ItalianSavory. Instagram will then put your post under the Italian food section and all the Italian food lovers can easily check your posts.
20 Best Food Instagram Accounts
1. @forksoverknives
Their motto: Everything you need to make a plant-based lifestyle easy and enjoyable. If you’re looking for photos of delicious food, that’s sans meat, you’ve found the right account. With 1.3 million followers it’s no secret people are obsessed with these plant-based food recipes.
2. @thenaughtyfork
Miami-based Sam Schnur, posts mouth-watering restaurant specials, home-made tasty-like videos, and delectable treats. Her photos and videos are guaranteed to make you want to hit the kitchen or these Miami restaurants as soon as possible.
3. @thefeedfeed
The Feed Deed has become a foodie Instagram empire. Julie Resnick has become the go-to person for everything you want to cook, bake and drink. These perfectly curated food photos look straight out of a magazine and will surely have you saving them to recreate later.
4. @halfbakedharvest
Tieghan Gerard is a New York Times best selling author of HBH Super Simple Cookbook for good reason. She cooks and bakes good food that will leave you drooling at your screen. Check out her page from everything from pizza and key lime pie, to “pizookies” and polenta fries recipes.
5. @rachlmansfield
Rachel Mansfield is one of the OG food bloggers. She focuses on posting healthy and tasty unique recipes. If the ingredients aren’t top notch, you likely will not find them in her recipes. Her cookbook Just the Good Stuff showcases some of her best wholesome recipes.
6. @ambitiouskitchen
Want to feel inspired inside and out of the kitchen? Monique at Ambitious Kitchen is your go-to food account. She posts nourishing recipes that will have your family and friends shocked when you tell them the ingredients are better for you.
7. @whatsgabycooking
Many food bloggers today claim to be chefs, but Gaby is the real deal. She has three cookbooks to prove her mad cooking skills. If you’re looking for food as good as grandma used to make, with a modern twist, head over to @whatsgabycooking.
8. @rosannapansino
American baker, actor, author, and YouTube celebrity Rosanna Pansino is well-known. Her most well-known work is a baking series on YouTube called “Nerdy Nummies,” in which she makes themed baked treats influenced by pop culture, video games, movies, and TV shows. Rosanna has a sizable fan base on social media sites, where she posts recipes, baking creations, and lifestyle material. She has also written cookbooks.
9. @foodsofjane
Ever see the most delicious-looking food photos on Instagram only to discover you can’t eat it? Jane has a lot of food allergies and posts photos that not only accommodate those allergies but look delicious too.
10. @shutthekaleup
When it comes to fueling your body with real food, Jeannette is the spokeswoman. Wife and mom of 2 makes sure her family eats a wholesome, well-rounded diet. She commonly posts recipes of thick smoothies, quality meats, and farmers market finds.
11. @kalejunkie
Kale Junkie herself, Nicole, shares easy recipes & lifestyle content to inspire others to live healthy. She is known for her life changing cookie recipes and posts other easy recipes, guaranteed to blow your mind.
12. @food52
Eat thoughtfully and live joyfully with food 52. These mouthwatering food photos will take your breath away. They are intricately styled and easy to make at the same time. If you’re looking to step up your game in the kitchen, head over here for some inspiration.
13. @broccyourbody
Carissa creates healthy & easy recipes using simple ingredients. She is the perfect balance of good for you and good mood food. She is known for creating an at home Taco Bell Crunchwrap Supreme and making her own version of the La Scala chopped salad.
14. @littlemissfoodie
This Kindergarten teacher will teach you a thing or two in the kitchen. She preaches attainable health and wellness, frequently shopping at Trader Joe’s for groceries. Her delicious recipes are easy to follow and make. Check out her page for more incredible dinners, desserts and more.
15. @alibonar
If you’re looking for some real talk about food, leave it to her. Ali preaches real talk about food and body image while posting easy and delicious recipes. She created Granola Butter, which is as creamy and dreamy as it sounds. If you need some nut butter alternatives, dank recipes, and some real advice, head over to @alibonar.
16. @wellandgoodeats
You might be familiar with the publication, Well and Good, but meet Well and Good Eats. They obsessively cover superfoods, nutritious recipes, healthy hacks + more. This is your one stop shop for better-for-you recipes and ways to change your habits in the kitchen.
17. @rachaelsgoodeats
Rachael doesn’t mess around when it comes to good food that’s also good for you. She is a registered dietician and trainer who shares delectable and nutritious meals. Whether you’re looking for a HIIT workout or Taco Night Ideas, her page is the place to go.
18. @bakeritablog
Sharing food and plants, sparks joy for Rachel Conners. Her page showcases the highest quality recipes with ingredients that are always gluten free, refined sugar free and dairy free. We can guarantee there is one thing her food isn’t free of, incredible taste.
19. @nobread
No bread, no problem for this gluten-free queen. LA based, Nicole Cogan shares how it doesn’t have to be a burden to be gluten-free. She shares photos of delicious recipes and restaurants that, that’s right, you guessed it…are all gluten-free. Whether you eat this way or not, Nicole’s feed makes you want to hop in the car and explore all the best healthy food LA has to offer.
20. @amywilichowski
Baked goods, bowls, and Boston, oh my. Amy shares the real deal on everything food and lifestyle. Her delicious bowls, lattes, and restaurant finds are portrayed in the coolest filter and light. Next time you need some breakfast inspiration, dessert, or last-minute dinner ideas, Amy is your gal.
Food Trends On Instagram
If you’re a food blogger or run a food business, now you know which trends are hot and how to watch for new trends to make it big on Instagram. Using Instagram effectively can help you share your food posts, gain followers, and expand your reach. By using these strategies, you can share your photos and delicious recipes with people who are excited to follow and learn from you. Let us know in the comments section below which tactics you’re ready to implement to grow your Instagram and follow the trends.
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