In today’s digital landscape, relying solely on organic reach just isn’t enough especially for food brands aiming to grow in a competitive environment. Between ever-changing algorithms and a crowded content space, paid advertising is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. A 2023 survey by HubSpot found that 68% of food marketers consider paid ads "very important" to their overall marketing strategy highlighting how widespread and essential it has become for performance-focused brands. That’s why more food marketers are turning to recipe-based advertising to scale performance and stand out in the crowded digital shelf.
According to Statista, global digital ad spend surpassed $600 billion in 2023, with food and beverage brands contributing significantly to this surge. Consumers are spending more time across digital touchpoints, and brands are following closely behind with dollars and strategy.
Global digital ad spend continues to grow, and marketers are increasingly relying on paid media to reach their target audiences. Without leveraging platforms like Google, Facebook, or TikTok, food brands risk missing high-intent opportunities to convert customers.
For food marketers, paid media offers both reach and precision and when done right, it becomes one of the most cost-effective ways to drive results at scale.
In this article, we’ll dive into what it takes to run successful paid ad campaigns in the food marketing space. From choosing the right channels and crafting high-converting creatives to audience segmentation, budgeting, and performance tracking — we cover it all. For more tips, trends, and in-depth insights, be sure to visit our Food Advertising blog.
Not all ad platforms are created equal, especially in the food world. Each one plays a different role in the consumer journey from high-intent searches to visual discovery.
Google Ads are your go-to for capturing demand. Think about shoppers searching for "healthy frozen meals" or "low-sugar granola"—this is where Google Search and Shopping campaigns shine. KFC ran a geo-targeted Search Ads experiment to intercept food-related decisions. The campaign led to a measurable lift in both online orders and in-store visits, demonstrating the power of paid search to influence real-time purchase behavior.
Facebook and Instagram offer a rich canvas for storytelling. M&M Food Market, a Canadian frozen food retailer, used a hyper-local Facebook ad strategy with custom and lookalike audiences tailored by store location. The campaign delivered a 1200% ROI during their spring promotion. Formats like Reels, Carousels, and Collection ads allow you to showcase texture, packaging, and preparation ideas. Universal Yums, an international snack-box brand, reduced acquisition costs and boosted sales volume by leveraging Lookalike Audiences on Facebook. Their holiday ad campaign helped them efficiently sell out inventory while maintaining a low CPA.
TikTok Ads has emerged as a breakout platform for food product paid marketing. With TikTok Spark Ads and creator partnerships, brands can tap into viral trends. Many CPG brands use hashtag challenges paired with recipe walkthroughs to dramatically scale brand awareness among Gen Z.
Programmatic Advertising offers smart reach at scale. Through real-time bidding, contextual targeting, and geofencing, programmatic tools help serve ads in relevant moments like when a user is scrolling a grocery coupon app or browsing food blogs. Using a DSP (demand-side platform) or managed service can make this process more efficient, especially for retargeting.
Leading programmatic platforms for food brands include The Trade Desk, Criteo, and Amazon DSP—each offering unique strengths in targeting and commerce integration. Retail media networks like Kroger Precision Marketing provide closed-loop attribution using real shopper data. Contextual solutions like GumGum ensure brand-safe placements in food-related content. These platforms enable CPG marketers to activate full-funnel strategies across display, video, and connected TV with precision.
No matter the platform, strong visuals and messaging are what turn browsers into buyers. High-performing food ads often feature close-ups of the product, hints of texture (steam, drips, crunch), and motion that simulates cooking or serving. Think sizzle reels over static packaging.
"For food brands, nothing stirs the appetite or the heart quite like showing a delicious meal in all its glory — it connects, it tempts, it tells a story. A package might say what it is, but a beautifully presented dish shows what it means."
Copy matters too. Phrases like “Guilt-Free Indulgence” or “Ready in 5 Minutes” tap into cravings and convenience. Testing different creative formats: static images versus video, emotional storytelling versus product-first can reveal what resonates with each audience.
Platforms like Meta and TikTok Business Center make it easy to A/B test headlines, CTAs, and visual elements. But even the most compelling visuals and copy need to reach the right audience to deliver results.
To study what your competitors are doing, or what kind of ads your audience is used to, a tool like Meta’s Ad Library can be very useful. It allows you to browse for ads within a certain region and industry and filter by Advertiser, Media type and Channel (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Threads).
The secret to better-performing ads isn't just the creative, it's who you’re showing them to. Targeting based on dietary lifestyle (keto, plant-based), shopping behavior (value-focused, quick meals), or audience demographics (young families, urban professionals) can dramatically improve conversion rates.
Tools like Meta Ads Manager or Google’s custom audiences let you layer targeting criteria. You can even create lookalikes from past purchasers or retarget site visitors who abandoned a cart. Sequencing these audiences from cold (never heard of you) to hot (ready to buy) allows for more strategic ad delivery and better ROI over time.
Shoppers focused on healthy eating habits are also highly responsive to well-positioned messages. Layering health-forward messaging with the right targeting can help food brands drive both conversions and loyalty.
The more precisely you target your audience at the top of the funnel, the greater your chances of driving conversions down the line. While many food advertisers focus on maximizing impressions or click-through rates to boost brand awareness, this approach can fall short when aiming to reach niche, high-intent shoppers—those already in the mindset to buy.
SideChef addresses this gap with contextual, in-recipe ad solutions that places food brands directly within relevant recipes, reaching consumers as they plan meals. By retargeting these users and building lookalike audiences across social platforms, SideChef helps brands move beyond vanity metrics and drive real end-of-funnel performance with campaigns that are both targeted and conversion-focused.
When launching a paid media strategy, food brands should begin with a clear budget framework. Start small—$50 to $100 per day per campaign—and focus initial spend on high-intent channels like Google Search, where consumers are actively looking for products. Once audiences and messaging are validated, gradually scale into social platforms like Meta or Pinterest to expand reach. Use a test-and-scale approach: allocate budget across multiple creatives and audiences, then shift spend toward the top performers based on cost-per-click (CPC), click-through rate (CTR), or cost-per-acquisition (CPA).
For bidding, platforms offer both manual and automated options. Manual bidding gives more control, but for most food brands, smart bidding strategies like Target ROAS or Maximize Conversions yield better results—especially when supported by strong conversion signals and clean tracking. The key is to run A/B tests with different bid strategies, monitor performance daily, and avoid setting ROAS goals too aggressively at the start, which can throttle your delivery.
That said, navigating auction-based bidding can be time-consuming and often inefficient—especially for smaller brands. SideChef’s in-recipe ad solution removes this complexity by offering guaranteed placements at a fixed price, bypassing the crowded bidding ecosystem entirely. Because these placements appear within recipes and shopping moments, CTR is naturally high and engagement is strong. SideChef further enhances performance by retargeting recipe viewers and creating lookalike audiences across social, allowing brands to connect with shoppers who are actively planning meals and ready to buy—without the guesswork of bidding.
Clicks are great, but they’re not the full story. Metrics like ROAS, CPA (cost per acquisition), LTV (lifetime value), and CVR (conversion rate) tell a clearer picture of success. Frequency and impression share also help gauge whether your ads are reaching the right people often enough to convert.
To monitor these KPIs, use tools like Google Analytics 4, Meta Ads Manager, and advanced attribution platforms like Hyros or Triple Whale. UTM tagging and first-party data are critical for tying performance back to specific campaigns especially in a post-cookie world.
When running in-recipe ads with SideChef, you can expect key performance metrics that give insights into what the campaign has delivered. Some of these metrics are provided by an independent 3rd party Pathformance. Metrics include:
If you're wondering whether these strategies actually work, let’s check out some examples. Below are two compelling examples of food and lifestyle brands using paid ads to achieve real results. Here are two standout case studies that show what happens when brands lean into platform-native ads and data-backed targeting.
Mission Foods implemented a comprehensive marketing strategy combining paid, earned, and owned media channels. The approach included seasonal campaigns, in-store activations, sweepstakes, and digital media amplification. This strategy led to a 9% sales growth from 2017 to 2018 and a 153% increase in website traffic.
Strategy Highlights:
Results:
You can read more on this in the AMP Agency Case Study, which also describes how they partnered on a brand toolkit titled “A Taste of Exploration,” the creation a portfolio of video recipes, rollout of the campaign on social with both paid advertising and an organic growth plan.
Kodiak Cakes expanded into the snacking category with a cross-channel campaign targeting specific geographies. Utilizing display and video ads, the campaign achieved a 43% sales growth during a three-week promotional period and a 92.7% video completion rate, indicating high consumer engagement.
Strategy Highlights:
Results:
Beyond this campaign, which you can read more on in this Goodway Group Case Study, they’ve also partnered with food influencers for branded recipe creations, like this Homemade Holiday Recipes with Kodiak Cakes by No Man Before.
Doritos worked with SideChef to build a branded Superbowl campaign that engaged home cooks with creative, flavorful recipes. The multi-touch experience featured a homepage takeover, branded video content, and fully shoppable recipe pages.
Strategy Highlights:
Results:
Read more on the Doritos x SideChef Campaign, including visuals of how the campaigns have been rolled out in recipe newsletters, across the recipe platform and within social posts, primarily being YouTube and Pinterest.
What sets this campaign apart from the other two case studies is that every touchpoint is fully shoppable. Whether users discover the recipe through social media, a recipe page, or a newsletter, they can instantly purchase the sponsored item—along with all the necessary ingredients—with a single click at their preferred retailer. This seamless shopping experience significantly enhances the value of the paid campaign.
The most effective paid campaigns in the food industry don’t succeed by chance—they’re the result of precise targeting, compelling creative, and ongoing optimization. In a crowded market, the brands that win are those willing to experiment and move quickly based on real data.
Paid media can tap into high-traffic platforms like Google, Meta, and TikTok, while also exploring programmatic opportunities. For an edge beyond the usual channels, consider in-recipe ads with SideChef—these let you reach consumers at exactly the right moment: when they’re planning meals and ready to shop.
Want help managing and scaling your food ad campaigns? Get in touch with the SideChef team to discover how we can help you reach high-intent audiences with maximum ROI.
A member of our team will reach out to you shortly.
Subscribe to the SideChef Business Newsletter
