Pinterest has become the all-powerful time suck of our days and nights. There are over 100 million active Pinterest users right now, 85% of whom are women, who are each spending an average of 15 minutes at a time on the platform. So what exactly are these users doing while they’re on Pinterest?
Well, they aren’t just casually browsing through their feeds; 70% are taking an action such as liking pins, repining or saving items, messaging pins to friends and family or actively searching out topics (Pinterest averages about 2 billion monthly searches). And the food and drink category is the most popular searched and pinned of them all. So it’s no surprise that businesses want to know more about Pinterest and specifically what consumers are pinning.
A recent collaboration between Foster Farms and Pinterest analyzed comfort foods and found some major shifts in what is considered to be traditional comfort foods; and it’s great news for the fruit and veggie industry.
First, comfort food is still a popular topic and it’s actually on the rise. In fact, according to Pinterest data, users save about 50,000 comfort food ideas every day; a 140% increase over last year. Comfort food though is no longer considered just carbs and casseroles; consumers want healthier versions and options.
Remember I said that comfort food is good news for the veggie industry. Well, it seems that the most popular word associated with comfort food is veggies. There is less searching for lasagna, mac and cheese and stroganoff, and more searching for lettuce versus bread, mushrooms instead of pizza dough and shredded cauliflower instead of rice. Yes, these are broccoli tots – not tater tots.
This same survey found that 58% of the 2000 consumers polled found noodle and carb substitutes such as cauliflower crumbles and zucchini noodles appealing alternatives.
But it isn’t only about the ingredients; it’s also about the preparation. Consumers said comfort foods have to be simple and easy to prepare. In fact, in our time strapped lifestyle, it’s no surprise that 50% of consumers said ease and speed of preparation is the most important characteristic in preparing meals. The terms “simple” and “made in minutes” were both related to comfort food and increased 39% since last year in Pinterest searches.
The power of Pinterest is the visual appeal. Today more than ever, the idea that a picture is worth a 1000 words still holds true. The power of a captivating photo that showcases a mouthwatering or interesting recipe is an attention grabber.
Now is your chance to up your game on comfort foods and highlight your products in healthy and interesting ways. Maybe it’s a quinoa apple crisp or cauliflower crumble mac and cheese or even a portabella philly cheese steak sandwich.
Pinterest has amazing power to build consumer interest in new foods and uses through interesting applications. Just remember a couple years ago nobody was using zucchini as noodles or making avocado toast.
Let us help you build your Pinterest strategy today.
