Content With Purpose – 3 Food Brands That Are Using Recipes Right

In the content marketing world, the phrase 'content is king' is as ubiquitous as it is cliched. There's also an element of truth to it - content is more important than ever - but it's far too simplistic and broad a phrase for it to be completely accurate. In reality, content with purpose is what truly matters. Content for the sake of content rarely converts. Content with purpose does. Are you providing value? Are you offering your website visitors what they want? Will they come back for more? We've chosen three food brands that are taking recipe content and giving it a fresh, valuable purpose that appeals to consumers.

Campbell's

Campbell's 'Buy now' technology. Source: Campbell's Kitchen

With Campbell's Kitchen, Campbell's is placing recipes at the centre of its marketing strategy. With a dedicated Campbell's Kitchen website and complementary social media accounts, Campbell's is illustrating its awareness that recipes are more than just lists of ingredients and instructions. What stands out immediately is the emphasis on quick and easy comfort food, which is particularly suited to this time of year. Digging deeper into the recipes themselves reveals a 'Get Ingredients' button. Campbell's is right on the money here, as shoppable recipe content is trending and online grocery is on the increase. This shoppable recipe content is integrated with the likes of Instacart and Amazon Fresh, enabling website users to shop the ingredients within a few clicks. Not just that, but Campbell's has embraced the rising popularity of voice technology. Their Alexa skill enables home cooks to ask for recipe inspiration and enjoy step by step hands-free instructions and, for Echo Show users, visual prompts in the form of ingredients and methods.

King Arthur Flour

King Arthur Flour's 'Baker's Hotline'. Source: King Arthur Flour

Although King Arthur Flour is first and foremost an ingredients brand, it places equal (or perhaps even more) emphasis on its recipe content. Although its content is not shoppable in a similar way to Campbell's, there is a clear link between its recipes and its e-commerce endeavours. Recipe ingredients are clickable and can be added to the cart in a couple of clicks, while each product page is enhanced by the addition of recommended recipes. As some of King Arthur Flour's ingredients are niche products, this strategy illustrates their versatility to customers. For King Arthur Flour though, their biggest advantage is their passion. It doesn't take much more than a quick browse to discover that this is a company of bakers whose aim is to help their customers produce beautiful results every time. From actively replying to comments on social media and on their website to operating a Baker's Hotline and posting step-by-step blog content that complements the recipes, it's clear that they understand the value customers place in their expertise. At the heart of this expertise is their recipes, which attract millions of users ready to be converted to customers.

Quaker Oats

Quaker's 'Otis' recipe finder. Source: Quaker Oats

Quaker Oats employ a number of clever strategies to engage their customers. Their time-saving, recipe-finding chatbot, Otis, is front and centre on their website, ready to help busy consumers find fresh recipe inspiration. They list chefs under the Recipes dropdown, giving consumers an impression of reliability and expertise. Most significantly, Quaker Oats is capitalising on the popularity of overnight oats in order to engage new and health-conscious audiences. Illustrating their forward-thinking commitment to recipes as a marketing tool, they have created an Alexa skill to help busy people source new inspiration. By combining a popular and ongoing food trend with an emerging technology Quaker is positioning itself as a formidable competitor in the recipe and content marketing spaces.