Top Food Start Ups USA in Check! Marketing with high investment – guaranteed success?

Social Media Marketing for Food – After we have compared in our last “Insta-Food-Check”, the food online shops USA and food shops in Germany, we draw today the comparison to startups in the food online trade! Why actually? In the analysis of US and German supermarkets active on Instagram to gain more reach, the relatively low interaction rate stood out. On average, US-American, large supermarket chains barely manage an inflation rate of 1%.

What does this interaction rate mean?

Anyone can have fans, for example, through a one-time but large advertising campaign. Thus, many people became aware of us at once, follow our channel but are ghosts afterwards. No interaction, no likes, no comments. Our brand is consistently ignored. The interaction rate can be calculated quite easily, in their simple model

Formula: Interaction (example)

Interaction = (Likes + Comments * 4) / Number of followers

So if our channel has 100,000 fans, but only 875 of them interact with our medium, our under interaction rate is below one percent. If we had 5,100 interactions, we would be at 5%. For large companies, there is a small trade-off here, due to their already very high online presence, you reach a lot of people. The calculation of the interaction rate is therefore so important for companies. Fans are relative, we explain this again and again in our work as social media consultants. Many supposed influencers buy their likes or followers online. Filtering out who has real increases and who is fighting unfair means here is the challenge. This is why many companies consult a social media agency when it comes to booking bloggers like. This shows the great value of interaction.

Brand awareness

Therefore, even large companies should make an effort in their social media marketing, because it’s not just about fans that are reached through general brand awareness, it’s about creating interaction in this community. Especially the community idea is important, why am I on Instagram? What added value am I looking for here? Do I want detailed information? Do I want a lot of text? Or do I just want to be entertained?

It is precisely this regular and constant, light flow of information, i.e. photos and videos instead of long texts, that should be ensured in Instagram marketing. Food start-ups in particular show how this works. No matter if it’s about the muesli for your pocket or a healthy smoothie. Young founders have many ideas and some manage to turn their idea into a real brand!

Best Practice Food

More on the subject:

Food Start Ups in the USA vs Germany

First, of course, we put out feelers in the direction of the US. With a renowned article as a basis, we set out to analyze the various Instagram accounts. We quickly noticed that many food startups in the US put less effort into their Instagram channel.

In Germany it looks quite different, here we could not find a single bad candidate from our various copies. In the context of our society on the topic of social media marketing in the food industry, we did not want to withhold a few channels from you and present 3 examples from the USA and 3 examples from Germany. Including interaction rates and followers for a quick comparison.

Negative example: America’s startups don’t try very hard

  1. Melt Organic – Wow… speechless. Where is the social media manager – 3.5 / 10
  2. Rooibee Red Tea: You can’t get more standard than this: product, influencer, done – 5.1 / 10

To the rescue of the honor we have another positive example from the USA: Love Suja – The only bright spot, goes nevertheless! – 6.5 / 10

Positive example: attention to detail from Germany

  1. Little Lunch Soups: Delicious stews in a jar – 8.1 / 10
  2. Hafervoll: The muesli for your pocket – 7.8 / 10
  3. True Fruits: Lives from the spirit of the “cult drink” – 6.1 / 10

Comparison: Start Up Instagram Marketing with High Investment – Guaranteed Success?

In my search for creativity in the food industry, I naturally couldn’t avoid looking at the US. What about creative ideas in social media marketing? There should be something to be found here! But… Wrong. “The United States Of Food: The Most Well-Funded Food & Beverage Startups In Each State”(article) first promised me that they must be good concepts, because otherwise nobody would invest. But then when I looked at the social media channels, I was amazed. Almost speechless. Not very creative, totally standard and none of them have more than 5,000 followers.

I’ll spare you the worst examples (specifically the fitness section directly). No best practice! Here’s just a quick look at the Instagram nogos. You can also see the relatively high follower numbers compared to the interaction – bought? Let’s take a quick look at the framework data of the channels.

Quick Check for Engagement

The quick check at the end of each online retailer detail list will give you insight into the interaction rate. The formula can be quickly calculated:

Engagement = Likes / Followers

Of course, the result can be influenced by social bots. Ultimately, however, at least a cross-sector indicator that allows quick conclusions. These interaction rates can be checked more precisely through long-term tracking of posts, comments and likes. The total rating then stands for the combination of interaction with the visual performance of the channel.

Melt Organic: Wow… speechless. Where is the social media manager

No love in Instagram management despite great product and stand in supermarkets. Melt is the slightly different butter. The channel is unfortunately anything but extra class.

  • Rating: 3.5 / 10
  • 1,496 subscribers
  • 1,186 subscribed
  • 200 contributions
  • 44 Likes on average
  • Quick Check: 2.94% Commitment
  • Melt Organic Instagram

Rooibee Red Tea: You can’t get more standard than that: product, influencer, done

Standard, absolute standard. A bottle in close-up, some influencer looking at the floor… Hm. 2,471 subscribers and only 16-30 likes. Again, there is little love in the channel and more of a $9 social bot.

  • Rating: 5.1 / 10
  • 2,471 subscribers
  • 1,056 subscribed
  • 510 contributions
  • 36 Likes on average
  • Quick Check: 1.45% commitment
  • Rooibee Red Tea Instagram

Love Suja: The only ray of hope in the USA: You can do it!

Just so we can show at least one more good example from the article “The United States Of Food: The Most Well-Funded Food & Beverage Startups In Each State”, here’s the channel from Love Suja. Just a drink really, but presented in a chic, modern and vibrant way. Whereby the subscribers are guaranteed not real.

  • Rating: 6.5 / 10
  • 2,361 contributions
  • 150,000 subscribers
  • 2,529 subscribed
  • 455 Likes on average
  • Quick Check: 0.30% Commitment
  • Love Suja Instagram

Food startups in Germany: 3 good recommendations for Instagram

New concepts, new luck. A look at the food start-up industry.

Online food startups compared

We take a look at the new ideas around healthy eating, organic food, drinks and superfoods.

Little Lunch Soups: Delicious stews in a jar

I know from my own experience how delicious the little jars are. Little Lunch became even better known through the TV format “Höhle der Löwen”. The company also shows itself exemplary on Instagram with a mix of products, ideas and bloggers.

  • Rating: 8.1 / 10
  • 402 contributions
  • 17,900 subscribers
  • 317 subscribed
  • 520 Likes on average
  • 11 comments (up to 200 for promotions, competitions)
  • Quick Check: 2.90% Commitment
  • Little Lunch Instagram

Full of oats: The muesli The flapjack for your pocket

Another muesli bar? Oh yes, the start up Hafervoll shows how to create a sympathetic, genuine and lovable product. For the mass market and for athletes. They are also very active on their Instagram channel.

  • Rating: 7.8 / 10
  • 465 contributions
  • 20,100 subscribers
  • 3,771 subscribed
  • 1,220 Likes on average
  • 47 comments
  • Quick Check: 6.06% Commitment
  • Oats Full Instagram

True Fruits: Lives from the spirit of the “cult drink

The Instagram channel is less successful than many others, but True Fruits is so well positioned that many love the brand. They focus on transparent content and innovative bottle design. Just something more than just a smoothie.

  • Rating: 6.1 / 10
  • 719 contributions
  • 107,000 subscribers
  • 9 subscribed
  • 2630 Likes on average
  • 39 comments
  • Quick Check: 2.45% commitment
  • True Fruits Instagram

Conclusion the big food companies can learn from the startups

Especially in the love and dedication to Instagram marketing, every single text, photo or video, lies the power of the young startups. With an interaction rate of 10%, you usually get ten times more people interacting with your content in the form of likes or comments. This not only gives you more people actively engaging with the brand but also creates a bigger viral effect. With each like, friends also get to see the particular post and can choose to like it or ignore it. If you also decide to make a positive statement, the viral effect will be even greater. This is why it’s so extremely worthwhile for businesses to pay attention to interaction rates in their Instagram marketing and make sure that users are actually interacting with the medium and not just leaving it on the left. Therein lies the power of the startup.