Video for food brands: how to make your product look as good as it tastes

Flavour can't cross a screen, but appetite can. A food brand, a bakery that distributes, an artisan producer or a gourmet shop needs its product to look as good as it tastes, whether on an online shop listing, in a Reel or on a trade fair stand.

The product videos a food brand needs

• Product in use: how it is opened, served or cooked. This is what clinches the purchase.
• Origin video: the field, the fish market, the bakery, the people who make it.
• Serving ideas: a breakfast, an aperitif or a snack with your product.
• Product page video: 10 to 20 seconds, silent and looping.
• Presentation for distributors: capacity, formats and brand values.

How to film food so it looks tempting

The rule is to show texture and movement. The crunch of toast, the thread of oil, the crumb opening up: each shot needs one clear action and soft side light. The packaging must look clean and legible, and at least one shot has to connect it with the food as served, so customers recognise it on the shelf.

Film with real, well-presented product. If what appears in the video doesn't look like what arrives at home, you win a sale and lose a customer. If your product is seasonal, have the footage ready a few weeks before the campaign.

One shoot for every channel

• Online shop and marketplace: short clips on the product page, where the platform allows it.
• Social media: verticals with quick recipes and everyday uses.
• Trade fairs and points of sale: a silent loop on screen.
• Sales team: a video the distributor can forward.
• Ads: cuts of 6 to 15 seconds to test several messages.

What to check before publishing

In food, what an ad says is regulated. Health or nutrition claims («low in», «helps to») must be legally usable for your product, and the message has to match the label. If in doubt, check with your adviser. Music must have a commercial licence and anyone who appears must have given permission.

What to measure

See whether the video changes something specific: add-to-carts on the pages where it appears, distributor orders after sending it or visits from social media. With two or three short versions you'll soon know which shot sells.

Video for each type of product

• Preserves and oils: the moment of opening, serving and the thread that falls.
• Bread and pastries: the crust, the crumb and the freshly baked look.
• Drinks: cold, bubbles and the glass filling up.
• Ready meals: going from pack to tempting table, without misleading about the result.
• Fresh produce: origin, season and the hands that select it.

How to tell the origin story without boring people

A brand story doesn't need three minutes of speech. Choose one person, one place and one gesture: whoever selects the product, the workshop where it's made, the detail that sets you apart. In 30 or 40 well-edited seconds people understand why your product costs what it does. That piece also works for the «About us» page, presentations to buyers and the specialist press.

A content calendar for a brand

Food has a natural calendar: back to school, Christmas, Easter, summer barbecues. If you plan the shoot in advance, you can film ideas for several campaigns in one session. A good split is to devote part of the content to recipes, part to origin and part to reminding people where to buy.

More ideas in how to film food for social media and one shoot, ten videos. If you'd like to see it applied to your brand, see the product video service or write to us.

Before filming, have a look at the vertical and horizontal examples.

Frequently asked questions

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