by Lori Barber
If you’re in the business of selling food to consumers you’ve noticed how much has changed since social networking became a part of our daily lives… young girls no longer learn to cook from their mothers, meal planning happens on the fly, and it’s now socially acceptable to take pictures of your food.
June Jo Lee, Vice-President, Strategic Insights, Hartman Group presented her findings from ethnographic analysis of everyday life in relation to food at United Fresh 2013 San Diego. For those of you who are not familiar with the term “ethnographic analysis”, it’s the qualitative research used to explore a cultural phenomena. As a fellow marketer, a food and wine lover, celebrity chef groupie, and proud owner of nearly every hand-held mobile device ever made, I was not all surprised to learn that Hartman Group’s research validated what I’ve suspected all along: consumers are now looking to bloggers and their social media communities for online opinions to expand their culinary horizons and make food purchase decisions. Continue reading
