Are food creators becoming the new taste-makers for brands?

Food marketing in India is increasingly moving away from polished advertising campaigns and towards trusted voices in consumers' feeds. Whether it is a chef explaining the science behind a recipe, a mother demonstrating how she uses spices in her daily cooking, or a regional creator showcasing a traditional festive dish, brands are discovering that authenticity often drives stronger engagement than conventional marketing.

The shift is reflected in marketing spends. Industry experts estimate that FMCG companies now allocate between 30% and 40% of their digital marketing budgets to creator-led campaigns, making the sector one of the largest investors in influencer marketing. The trend is being fuelled by changing consumer behaviour. According to industry data, 70% of Indian consumers rely on influencer recommendations for food purchases, while 76% of FMCG brands use influencer marketing as a trust-building tool. At the same time, regional-language food content is growing at three to four times the rate of Hindi and English content, creating new opportunities for brands to connect with audiences through culturally relevant storytelling.

As a result, food brands are increasingly moving beyond reach and follower counts, prioritising expertise, credibility and long-term creator relationships.

FMCG brands move beyond reach to build trust

Among the companies leaning heavily into creator-led marketing is DS Group, which has increasingly focused on building sustained partnerships rather than one-off influencer campaigns.

Arnab Ghatak Choudhary, Senior General Manager, Marketing at DS Group, said long-term creator relationships help strengthen both consumer trust and brand recall. "Creator selection is driven by the role they play in the consumer journey. While home creators help demonstrate how products fit naturally into family kitchens, chefs provide expert validation and deeper engagement around food and flavour," he said.

For Catch spices, DS Group selects creators based on their role in the consumer journey-mom influencers for everyday home cooking and chefs for culinary credibility. The brand is also focusing on regional content, partnering with Bengali creators ahead of the festive season to highlight local dishes and food culture.

The industry's growing confidence in creator-led engagement is also pushing brands to rethink how they source influencer talent.

Fortune Foods recently took an unconventional route by launching the Fortune Influencer Masterclass in partnership with Influencer.in and MasterChef India. Instead of hiring established creators, the initiative sought to identify and train aspiring food creators from across the country.

The programme attracted more than 50,000 registrations without paid promotion. Participants were evaluated on cooking, storytelling, plating, video editing and content creation skills. More than 250 shortlisted candidates received mentorship and training, while 25 winners secured annual content partnerships worth up to Rs 2 lakh each.

"Most brands today are competing for the same pool of established food creators, but with Fortune Foods, we wanted to take a different approach and build creators instead of simply hiring them," said Vikas Chawla, Co-founder of Social Beat.

"Through the Fortune Influencer Masterclass, we identified passionate home cooks from across the country and gave them the training, mentorship and tools needed to grow as content creators. The most rewarding moment came at the felicitation event in Ahmedabad, where several winners shared how they had been creating content for years with little visibility and were now working directly with a leading FMCG brand."

According to Chawla, the initiative demonstrated that creator marketing can be about nurturing communities and creating opportunities rather than simply leveraging existing influence.

Why quick commerce players are paying attention

The growing importance of creator-led food marketing is also being closely watched by quick commerce platforms, which have become a key sales channel for FMCG brands. For platforms such as Swiggy Instamart, creator marketing is no longer just about awareness; it is increasingly becoming a measurable business driver.

"Influencers play a key role in our marketing funnel. They help bridge the gap between brand communication and authentic audience connection," says Abhishek Shetty, Marketing Head, Swiggy Instamart.

According to Shetty, the company adopts a balanced mix of macro and micro influencers. While macro creators help drive scale and visibility, micro influencers deliver stronger trust and deeper engagement within niche communities.

The company also evaluates influencer campaigns through a performance lens.

"For every influencer campaign, we don't only track campaign metrics like CPV and engagement rates, but also focus on understanding business impact. We look at metrics such as keyword searches, search impressions, app sessions and even GMV of select products that are featured only in influencer videos," he said.

Regional campaigns have emerged as particularly effective. Swiggy Instamart's creator-led campaigns around Raksha Bandhan, Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja have generated organic engagement rates of 6-7%, demonstrating how cultural relevance can significantly improve campaign performance.

From creators to experts

As the creator ecosystem matures, marketers are increasingly seeking expertise rather than visibility alone.

Food creator Gurpreet Singh Tikku, popularly known as Mister Tikku, believes trust has become the defining factor in food marketing. "Marketing is all about storytelling, and food is no different," he said.

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According to Tikku, audiences today expect creators to provide honest recommendations and informed perspectives rather than promotional endorsements.

"Followers can be acquired through content, but trust can only be earned through consistency. And in the food space, trust will always be the most important ingredient," he said.

Tikku noted that brands have become significantly more data-driven in their creator selection processes.

"Brands surely look for domain experts and creators whose voice and content match their positioning and ethos. That is never going to change," he said.

The creator, who has worked with brands including Mother Dairy, KFC, Swiggy, Punjab Grill, McDonald's, Tata Beverages and Giani's, said he only collaborates with products and experiences he genuinely believes in.

Chef Sougata Ghosh has observed a similar shift. He believes brands are increasingly looking beyond follower counts and prioritising creators who bring subject matter expertise. "Credibility today comes from being consistent and being original," he said.

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For Ghosh, content is not just about sharing recipes but helping audiences understand why a cooking technique works, how restaurant dishes can be simplified, and how consumers can recreate them at home with minimal ingredients and preparation time.

"I've noticed brands now look beyond just reach. They want collaborators who bring authenticity and domain knowledge," he said.

According to Ghosh, this shift is creating opportunities for creators whose value lies in expertise rather than audience size alone.

The rise of culinary authority

The growing preference for expertise is particularly evident in the increasing role chefs are playing in creator-led marketing.

Celebrity chef and culinary consultant Vaibhav Bhargava believes food marketing is undergoing a fundamental transformation. "Food marketing today is shifting from promotion to proof," he said.

According to Bhargava, “Consumers don't just want to know what a product is. They want to understand where it comes from, how it is made, who is recommending it and whether that recommendation is genuine.”

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With more than two decades of experience spanning luxury hospitality, restaurant consulting and international culinary collaborations, Bhargava has seen brands increasingly prioritise expertise and thought leadership.

"After the pandemic especially, many brands stopped asking how many followers you have and started asking what expertise you bring to the table," he said.

The result is a broader range of opportunities that extend beyond content creation to include consulting assignments, chef's tables, culinary festivals, hospitality forums and educational initiatives.

Bhargava's work with Michelin-recognised Praya Palazzo in Bangkok, Bloom Café and Red Crocodile Hotel in Thailand demonstrates how food partnerships are increasingly becoming vehicles for cultural exchange and storytelling rather than straightforward marketing exercises.

The growing reliance on culinary expertise is also visible in institutional campaigns.

The European Union's More Than Food campaign recently launched A Taste of Home with EU Tadka, a cookbook showcasing how European ingredients can be integrated into Indian cooking. Rather than relying solely on traditional advertising, the campaign partnered with chefs including Ajay Chopra, Guntas Sethi, Rakhee Vaswani and Sougata Ghosh to tell the story of European ingredients through recipes, experiences and culinary narratives.

The initiative reflects a broader industry trend in which brands are turning to trusted experts to explain provenance, quality and authenticity in a way that resonates with consumers.

Regional flavours are becoming the next growth engine

Another trend reshaping food marketing is the rise of regional content.

According to Meta data, regional-language food content is growing three to four times faster than Hindi and English content, with cuisines such as Pahari and Bihari witnessing particularly strong growth. Tier III and Tier IV creators now account for nearly half of influencer campaigns in the food category, highlighting the growing importance of local voices.

Brands are responding by moving beyond national campaigns and embracing hyperlocal storytelling.

DS Group’s Bengali creator initiative and Swiggy Instamart’s festive regional campaigns reflect how brands are using local creators to make food marketing more culturally relevant. Food brands benefit from this shift as consumption is closely tied to culture and local identity, and regional creators often better reflect these nuances, helping build stronger trust.

Trust is becoming the product

The evolution of food marketing reflects a larger shift taking place across the creator economy.

While reach and visibility remain important, brands are increasingly investing in creators who can offer expertise, authenticity and cultural relevance. Whether through celebrity chefs, regional storytellers, home cooks or long-term creator partnerships, marketers are discovering that credibility often delivers stronger results than visibility alone.

In a category where purchase decisions are closely tied to trust, creators are no longer simply amplifying brand messages. Increasingly, they are becoming the reason consumers believe them.