3 easy ways to elevate your food & drink ads on TikTok

The sharp hiss of a soda can opening. The soft gooeyness of a just-sliced chocolate cake. The satisfying rustle of a crisp packet. Pretty much every element of a food & drink product is ripe for creative expression. But with so many options, how can you know what will resonate most with audiences? What type of content will cut through and really drive results for your food & drink brand?

We know that branded content and TikTok go hand-in-hand: 64% of users agree that branded content is immersive and entertaining on TikTok and 3 in 5 agree that branded content feels more authentic on TikTok vs other platforms [1]. So, to arm food & drink brands with the knowledge and recommendations they need to create branded content on TikTok that really resonates, we undertook a multi-market study to unearth the best creative practices that are proven to drive key brand and campaign metrics.

We partnered with external research agencies PA Consulting and Office of Ideologies for this study where we analysed 200 best-in-class TikTok videos and surveyed 7500 TikTok users across 5 markets to discover the three main principles food & drink brands can use to produce creative that drives mouth-watering results*. Read on to find out what they are.

1. Put the product front and centre

For the users we surveyed, creative that puts the product at the centre is number one for increasing likelihood to purchase, with 7 out of 10 users loving food & beverage content where the product is the centre of attention [1]. Sensorial sounds of the product also add extra impact: 64% of our users love content that features sounds of the product (e.g. fizzing, pouring, chopping) [1].

Activation suggestions:

• Indulgent sensorials: Use product-centric visuals to highlight textures, colour and vibrancy. Use audio to enhance visuals and deepen their effect.

• Products in action: Ground creative in real-life moments by showing people enjoying the products. Try emphasising convenience on-the-go or indulgent me-time moments.

Take inspiration from Magnum:

2. Show social contexts

We found that three quarters of our surveyed users love food & drink content that features regular people, and 72% want content with a feel-good, light, excited feel [1]. Similarly, 53% say food & drink content filmed in home settings helps them think that the brand is for someone like them [1].

We suggest that food and drink brands showcase people engaging with and experiencing your products; highlight how your product seamlessly integrates into daily life by featuring a diverse range of users and consumers and by illustrating its role in their routines. Incorporate direct calls to action from users and creators to boost engagement and encourage further interaction.

Activation suggestions:

• Social sharing: Create fun, feel-good content showing eating and drinking as a social activity with friends and family. Use warm colours to convey closeness and an inviting, informal tone to bring viewers into the experience.

• Making it their own: Celebrate the unique habits of a single person: unusual pairings, unexpected recipes, weird opinions and semi-serious rituals. Show people owning their individual preferences, routines and twists and takes on food and drinks and bring viewers on the journey through recipes, tips, tricks and hacks.

3. Play on discovery and inventiveness

With 72% of users loving food & drink content that conveys a sense of discovery and 66% wanting food & drink content with a fun, playful mood, we recommend surprising and delighting viewers by showing them content that pushes boundaries in a playful, fun way. Highlight new flavours, combinations, scents, textures or inspire with fun creative twists and fresh ideas.

Encourage active discovery by leveraging the audience's curiosity – add links to recipes, run competitions, and promote purchasing or trying products. We've found these calls to action are more effective than simply asking viewers to like, share, or follow your brand on TikTok [1].

Activation suggestions:

• Experimentation: Help and inspire viewers to experiment at home with surprising and delightful ideas and recipe tutorials. Introduce new flavours and combinations to push people out of their comfort zones and encourage them to think differently about your product.

• Creative silliness: Entertain with playful humour that bends the rules and norms of eating and drinking, through games, pranks and challenges for example. Use bright colours, filters, quick transitions and unpolished visuals to maximise impact.

Winning on TikTok is a piece of cake

TikTok is the ideal playground to make your products more shareable and coveted by your audience and we have a wealth of tools and solutions to help you level up your TikTok ads. Check out TikTok Symphony, our new suite of creative solutions powered by generative AI, or partner with creative production experts using the TikTok Creative Exchange (TTCX), our one-stop solution that enables fast, scalable high-performing video production for TikTok. And, for an in-depth look at creating for TikTok, check out our creative codebook.

If you want to learn more about the food & drink opportunity on TikTok and how you can leverage it, check out this blog post. And to get insights like these straight to your inbox, sign up for our dedicated CPG newsletter.

*Not all three principles need to be leveraged within one TikTok creative. They can be dialed up and down depending on brand personality, voice and tone.