Every December, grocery baskets get heavier, ovens work overtime, and food brands see their biggest sales weeks of the year. In fact, many CPGs report that up to 30% of annual sales happen in Q4, driven by holiday entertaining, gifting, and baking. Criteo's 2024 report highlighted that CPG products see the highest online sales growth in the U.S. leading up to Thanksgiving, with a surge in in-store sales during the final week before Christmas.
But while shoppers are buying more, they’re also searching more — for inspiration. Recipe views, saves, and shares spike dramatically during the festive season. Consumers are looking for ideas for their Christmas dinner, edible gifts, and festive treats. That alignment between product demand and recipe discovery is a golden opportunity for brands.
The CPG brands that win during the festive peak are those who show up inside the recipe moments their consumers are already seeking, connecting their products directly to the dishes people love.
During the holidays, food plays a starring role. Consumers plan menus weeks ahead, browse for recipe inspiration on social platforms, and stock up early.
Recipe content acts as a purchase trigger. Once a user finds a recipe they like, they’re ready to shop (especially when an online shopping funnel is readily available).
A baking recipe, cocktail, or side dish introduces your product in context, far more naturally than a traditional product ad.
Recipes build trust and brand warmth. Consumers are more likely to purchase from brands they associate with reliable, festive inspiration.
The festive season therefore isn’t just a sales peak. It’s a content peak. For brands, it’s the one time of year where marketing content directly fuels purchase behavior.
Certain categories see a predictable lift every holiday season. Retail and CPG data consistently show double-digit growth for the following:
These are the recipes consumers are already primed to cook. They just need inspiration for how to use them, and, most importantly, which food items to purchase.
Let’s take a closer look at nuts. If your brand sells pecans, focusing on Pecan Pie content makes perfect sense. Search trends show that interest in this recipe peaks at three times the volume of searches for “pecans” alone. Digging deeper, we see that users searching for pecan recipes also frequently explore Sweet Potato Casserole recipes.
How can your brand leverage these recipe insights, combining your products with high-performing recipes and popular keywords, to drive engagement and visibility?
We’ll give you a sneak peek into what content is trending on online platforms like SideChef, Pinterest, and TikTok. The same holiday classics trend surge every year, with creative modern spins gaining traction too.
In 2024, SideChef’s top-ranking Thanksgiving content includes Herb-Roasted Spatchcock Turkey and Gravy (an obvious one) and 5-minute Garlic Butter Dinner Roll (a more unique one).
Christmas content included Venezuelan Christmas Bread (one of those surprising popular search terms for those not familiar with this cuisine) and a very yummy Cranberry Orange Walnut Bread. These recipes drove not only high engagement but also strong click-through to ingredient-linked shopping partners, proving that recipes are a commerce engine.
Think you know what captures everyone’s attention during Thanksgiving? Let’s put it to the test! Guess which classic term—Pumpkin Pie, Roast Turkey or Mashed Potatoes—is searched for the most each holiday season.
It’s a fun way to see how food trends really shape the holiday table, and you might be surprised by some unexpected surges. Maybe it even inspires your own festive content strategy.
While “Christmas roast” and “holiday cookies” dominate obvious search terms, it’s often the niche, practical, or emotional keywords that bring fresh traffic and less competition.
Consider optimizing for:
These unexpected search angles reflect how people actually cook during the holidays, looking for convenience, creativity, and modern twists on tradition.
Holiday content planning should begin at least 3–6 months ahead. Brands that wait until November miss the window when consumers begin searching.
Good to Know: SideChef helps brands plan for the festive season with recipe-focused proposals tailored to your product category.
Rather than focusing only on promotions, center your content around dishes.
For example:
Good to Know: SideChef runs awareness-driven sponsorships within trending recipes and unique collections, boosting traffic with newsletter and social features.
Consumers don’t just want inspiration — they want convenience.
Add direct ingredient links or integrate with retailer partners to allow “Add to Cart” straight from the recipe.
Good to Know: SideChef offers conversion-driven shoppable recipe ads with guaranteed orders sent to retailers, enabling users to view, cook, and buy online within one flow. Offline sales impact is also measured by our partner Pathformance, to measure overall campaign ROAS.
Don’t make the most common mistake of having your content live in isolation, on just one channel Amplify your recipes through:
Use consistent tagging and UTMs so you can attribute engagement to specific recipes.
Track which recipes drive clicks, saves, and conversions. Double down on those performers and repurpose them next year as evergreen “Holiday Classics.”
Two standout example from 2024 Christmas time are those from GOYA and Kemps. The latter is a dairy brand that partnered with SideChef for a holiday recipe campaign.
By featuring their’ products directly within recipes and distributing content across SideChef’s social and newsletter channels, the campaign delivered:
The secret was contextual relevance: consumers discovered the brands not through a banner, but through a recipe they already wanted to make.
To get your marketing plan started today, here are the five best practices for recipe-based marketing during the festive season:
During the holidays, consumers are at their most engaged, emotional, and inspired. They’re actively searching for food ideas, and ready to buy.
For CPG brands, this is more than a sales window; it’s a storytelling moment. A recipe-led approach transforms your product from something on a shelf into something on the table.
By preparing early, choosing the right recipe partners, and making content shoppable, your brand can not only ride the festive wave, you can own it.
This festive season, make your recipes do more than inspire, turn them into measurable results. SideChef helps you drive sales with shoppable recipe ads, dedicated recipe-led campaigns with proven ROAS and full content strategy support.
Contact us for an intro call, and let’s explore how your brand can shine this holiday season! 🎉
A member of our team will reach out to you shortly.
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