Just like jelly sandals, scrunchies and American Idol, some things never give up.
The great JT once sang, “What goes around comes back around (I thought I told ya, hey-ey-ey),” and he was right. In case you haven’t noticed, America seems to be experiencing The 90s: par duex, with teen girls looking straight outta The Babysitters Club – complete with clunky, white sneakers and flannels tied around their waists. And this cyclical fact of life isn’t restricted to fashion trends. The food industry goes round and round, too, based on consumer interests and advancements in health and technology, and right now, the freezer section is comin’ in HOT.
Frozen foods have been around forever (like 1000 B.C forever), but the industry really didn’t get its jumpstart until 1927 when Clarence Birdseye, known as the Father of Frozen Food, created a freezing machine that was the basis of today’s freezing technology. In 1954, the world was given the gift of the TV dinner. Full frozen meals on tiny little trays – just heat and eat! Apparently some men were rather pissed that their wives had audacity to simply heat up a meal for them instead of slaving over the stove, so, in some ways feminists should give the frozen food industry a good old “F*ck Yeah!,” as thanks. In its first year, Swanson TV dinners (thought to be the first of its kind) sold 10 million meals. It was an instant success that lasted for decades.
However, in recent years, the health industry hasn’t made it easy on the freezer section. With increased awareness and taboo ingredients that are essentially grocery store curse words (Glu%*n, S*g@r…), consumers are taking mama’s scolding to “watch your mouth” literally and are extremely careful about they put in their cart. The frozen foods aisle became a no-mans land and to some, a shameful place to shop. Brands like Hungry-Man, with their mystery meat patties and novel-length ingredient list (seriously, grab your glasses and a cup of coffee before reading), created an unwelcoming environment for health-conscious consumers.
Surprisingly, Hungry-Man meals are still around. With their “Eat Like A Man” slogan, questionable ingredients and uh…explosive(?) branding, they are clearly super relevant, popular and paying attention to today’s social climate ..#smh. But for the most part, frozen food manufacturers have listened to consumers and are improving everything from packaging (see ya later, BPA) to high-quality ingredients (organic quinoa? Yas, kween). The freezer section is becoming a destination for healthy options and consumers and industry professionals alike are eating it up.
Frozen Gettin’ Fresh
What Happened? What Changed?
Everything. Practically… Ice cream? No, surely you mean nice cream made from coconut milk and bananas. Chicken nuggets? Um, how about “chik’n” nuggets that are 0% chicken and 100% plant based? The freezer aisle is almost unrecognizable with the amount of diet-friendly or better-for-you options that now fill the shelves. Your old standbys like Ben and Jerry’s are still there for treat-yo-self moments and thanks to Netflix’s Stranger Things, Eggo Waffles are experiencing a newfound appreciation (Eleven isn’t gonna leggo), but there’s no denying the department has gotten an upgrade.
Consumers can find frozen items to meet any dietary need. Gluten-free (GF), dairy-free (DF), vegan, organic, non-GMO, no MSG, grain-free, PALEO..whatever acronyms you can think of, you can find it in the freezer. There is also a variety of flavors to experience. It’s not all corn dogs and fish sticks, anymore. Cultural favorites including Pad Thai and Moroccan Tagine are offered by brands like Sweet Earth Foods, letting consumers open the (freezer) door to new cultures. Meanwhile, brands like Mikey’s, originally known for their english muffins, are helping consumers apply the convenience of frozen food to any meal of the day with their ready-made pizza crusts and Mikey’s Pockets (aka hot pockets that don’t leave you feeling like Jim Gaffigan).
Kids are also getting an upgrade in this market. Brands like Kidfresh and Dr. Praegers are getting creative with veggie servings by sneaking them into childhood staples like chicken nuggets, tater tots and fun, dinosaur shaped sides. Imagine how few veggies your family pupper would have had to eat if we had these options growing up!
I see it, I like it, I want it, I got it
Accessibility to quality frozen foods has also improved with conventional grocery and even convenience stores stocking more and more of what used to be tucked away in high-end areas or health-food markets. A quick meal at work doesn’t mean ordering out or a $1 microwavable burrito anymore, brands like Wildscape are now filling grocer freezers with easy options and tons of flavor variety. Their dishes look more like a curated restaurant special than something you plucked from the fridge. Side note: LMS managed an influencer program for Wildscape in 2018 that resulted in 145 activations with a total potential reach of over 3 million. Oh and our average engagement rate across the program was 4.45% – aka we did the damn thing. #HumbleBrag. Call us today!
Too busy for a grocery run? Not a problem. Frozen foods have hopped on the super trendy meal delivery train, shipping freezer-ready meals straight to your door. Mosaic Foods is an example of one company that is dishing up high-quality, hand-prepped meals on a subscription basis, so your freezer is never empty and your weekly meal prep is done with a click.
Millennial Mindset
Some of you never ate Kid Cuisine or Bagel Bites while watching TGIF and it shows.
While obviously cold, frozen foods haven’t been inherently cool. They’re still fighting an uphill battle to shed their bad rep, but the millennial generation is helping them “break the ice.” We millennials are notorious food snobs… in the best way possible, obvi. Your coffee shop doesn’t offer at least 5 ‘milk’ options? No, thanks. We can’t pronounce an ingredient? We aren’t buying it. This increased awareness and interest in what we are eating is great for the health industry (not to mention or bodies and future generations), but makes it hard for companies to keep up. As brands update their processes, packaging and ingredients, our picky generation is taking notice and not only buying, but tweeting, pinning, ‘gramming, and doing all the things to spread the word on their new faves. If there’s one thing millennials love more than food, it’s sharing pictures of the said food on social media.
Though they would balk at their mothers for feeding them the frozen options of the 90s, millennials are now stocking their freezers for multiple reasons. First, they’re stressed AF. Millennials are thought to be the most stressed generation and taking some meal prep off their plate is a BFD (big friggin’ deal, not to be confused with The BFG – shout out to all my Roald Dahl fans!). Second, there are a lot of single millennials (a record high!) in the world, as many delay marriage and families. Thus, big portions and cooking full recipes is a waste. Frozen meals offer a quick, affordable solution, with less waste. That brings us to our third reason – millennials love Leonardo DiCaprio! Ok, that’s true too, but we actually mean they love the Earth just like Leo. Eco-friendly is the name of the game when it comes to products right now. Compostable packaging, sustainable ingredients, reduce, reuse, recycle, all that good stuff is important to today’s buyer. So less food waste and less packaging waste from buying multiple ingredients is music to millennial ears. Just ask Lil Dicky.
Influencers Bring the Heat
In case you haven’t noticed, millennials and influencers go hand-in-hand. Social media started with this generation, but probably won’t die with it. With a wide variety of social platforms available to anyone with a wifi signal, just about everyone is in some way an “influencer.” Utilizing the power of true social media influencers can transform not only a brand, but an industry! At LMS, we have seen (and contributed to) this happening time and time again. Influencer opinions shape social and global conversations, increase awareness and convert followers to customers with a few quick clicks.
In fact, 49% of consumers claim they depend on influencer recommendations to inform their purchasing decisions. They are the epitome of organic word-of-mouth marketing and the frozen food industry can capitalize on consumers’ social media appetite. Take our work with frozen food company Daily Harvest as an example of success. Over the course of our affiliate program consisting of 655 influencers, we drove 12-15% of sales month-over-month. Our micro-influencer program for vegan frozen treat maker, Snow Monkey, consistently produces amazing content with killer engagement. For 2019, our average engagement rate is 4.20% – about 2% above the industry standard). What’s that mean? 1- LMS is awesome. 2 – consumers are not only seeing these posts, but very, very interested in the product shown.
Working with online influencers to promote a product can be a tricky business, especially in the frozen food market. LMS has a legit track record of success with social media influencers in the food industry, and specifically in the niche frozen category. We’ve learned much through our work, so here’s a cheat sheet of best dos and don’ts.
Do’s and Don’ts of Frozen Food + Influencers
- Do – Educate them on your product, Don’t – Leave them to figure it out!
- Your product is special – make sure the influencers know why. Providing educational info, sample captions and post inspiration is key to getting your messaging out to their followers (aka future customers!).
- Do – Be flexible and allow creativity, Don’t – Be rigid and restrictive
- Remember you’re working with someone who has their own ‘brand’ and image. The work they do with you needs to be authentic to themselves. It’s what makes their followers trust them.
- They’re also hella creative and have interesting ideas of their own. Let them melt your ice cream down to be a glaze for waffles. Encourage them to add ingredients to your prepared meal. You’ll get a beautiful variety of UGC to keep consumers on their toes!
- Do – Keep in touch, Don’t – F* up on the follow through
- Communicate! Because: 1 – build that relationship, 2- educate the influencer, 3 – ensure your delivery is received, 4 – encourage timely activations (reminders and follow up are key!!)
- Skimping on communication can really make a mess. You could find out too late that the product wasn’t received, it melted, they ate it and forgot to post, and so on.
- Do – Have a solid fulfillment plan + budget, Don’t – Underestimate delivery needs and cost
- Surprise! Shipping can be pricey, especially for frozen foods. Research what would work best for your product and budget. Dry ice? Ice packs? Hand-delivery in certain markets?
- Whatever route you take, make sure you coordinate with the influencer down to the day (hour, if possible!) of delivery. Nobody likes lukewarm, melted smoothie bowls, k?
- Do – Send actual product, Don’t – Send only redeemable coupons
- Mail is exciting. Mail with delicious food in it is *angels singing.* Capitalize on that! Unboxing videos are a great form of UGC and an opportunity for bonus activations and visibility.
- Coupons are unreliable. Yes, they are 1,000% cheaper to send, but they get lost, the influencer doesn’t make to the store, their local retailer is out of product…shall we keep going? If you say ‘yes’ to coupons, you can say ‘bye’ to activations.
Frozen foods are not frozen in time. The recent improvements in the industry are as refreshing as sticking your head in the freezer on a hot, summer day, and we love watching the innovation continue! Struggling to turn up the heat on your frozen food (or any product!) marketing strategies? “Let it goooo, let it gooo!” and let LMS dig you out of the snow.
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