Social media is the future of food. After all, the phone does eat first. Take a scroll through Instagram and you’re sure to come across a post or Story where someone is showing off their scrumptious brunch. Can you believe #FoodPorn on Instagram has almost 300 million posts?
Food fuels trends. There have been numerous cases where recipes trend and products end up selling out at grocery stores everywhere. Earlier this year, it was feta pasta. Now, microwaved tuna, rice, and an ice cube is the latest TikTok food trend.
Foodies have been uniting on social media for a while. The newest trend influencing #foodporn is video. According to a report by GlobalWebIndex, 53% of foodies stated that videos are their favorite type of food content to consume on social media, compared to 35% of foodies who like pictures. 54% of foodies save recipe videos on social media so they can make it at home for themselves, showing an intent to purchase directly resulting from the content they see on social media.
Both food and beverage trends bake to perfection with the help of influencers. Just by talking about them on social media, celebrities like Kobe Bryant and Gwyneth Paltrow started trends like kale, coconut water, and kombucha. Macro-influencers that share their food passion to some hundred thousand followers are just as influential as celebrities. Even micro-influencers can be beneficial to establishing trends to the people that follow and trust them.
Here is one of our favorite food influencers Nico Norena, a Miami-based food influencer and founder of The Succulent Bite. His Instagram account just hit 1 million followers. Keep reading to get to know his story and to celebrate with us his creative journey.
Name
Nico Norena
IG Handle
@succulentbite
Tell us a short fun fact about yourself.
I played the drums for 12 years! I also dreamed of becoming a Hollywood actor when I was a boy!
What’s your favorite social media trend right now?
Easy recipes that have the perfect loop! (The end of video ties right into the begining)
View this post on Instagram
What started you on your influencer journey?
It started as a passion for food and photography! Over the years I have developed it into a structured company, showcasing epic food, travel and soon – a special surprise product!
What’s your favorite part about being a creator?
I love to have the privilege of creating content that hundreds of thousands will get to see and enjoy! Most importantly, I love seeing people’s reactions to it all, trying it out at home and enjoying it with their friends and family.
What’s the proudest moment of your career?
It’s a composition of several instances. The first has been receiving recognition as one of the top 100 influencers in marketing and advertising. Another has been a special TV segment which highlighted my story as well as how I developed and created Succulent Bite to now have global recognition. And one of my favorites has been to be able to speak to students at my university about my journey and how they can explore and develop their own as well.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
To be persistent and consistent with the work I do! To not only be motivated, but to also be very disciplined, as this is what will help achieve the highest level of success.
Ready to leverage creator partnerships to grow your business? Open Influence is a global influencer agency that helps brands connect with influencers. Contact us here.
