Looking at the big picture of big data and CPG, ones and zeros are becoming just as crucial as hoes and tractors when it comes to putting food on the table.
In just a few short weeks, millions of Americans will be gathering around the Thanksgiving table with the intent of tucking into a gigantic meal — one they have likely anticipated for weeks. An estimated 51,150,000 turkeys will be consumed, along with a healthy supply of the nation’s 2.4 billion sweet potatoes, 650,000 tons of green beans and 7.5 million barrels of cranberries.
While the nation reflects on why they’re thankful, marketers may well be praising the power of Big Data this holiday season.
Backed by data-driven insights, CPG and agricultural companies predict demand for products and use that information to market them to consumers. Social listening monitors recipes and coupon sharing to know which offerings to boost or which food items will be hot this year. Most importantly, before all of this happens, farmers use agricultural data and analytics to raise the turkeys and vegetables that eventually end up on our plates.
Big Data and CPG Offer Meal Planning 2.0
According to a study conducted by ShareThis in 2013, 73% of social sharing activity in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving consists of recipes and food-related coupons. Since that time, brands like Reynolds have caught wind of the influence a good recipe or emotional social campaign can have on mindshare. Reynolds is taking advantage of this phenomenon by flooding Instagram with tempting and gorgeous food photos coupled with links to recipes. Their hope is that by participating in the wave of 198 million #food and 64 million #foodporn hashtags, they can heighten brand awareness while also encouraging millennials to consider recipes that use Reynolds foil during preparation.
Other brands are listening to what social consumers are saying online by looking to platforms like Yummly. Yummly tracks the popularity of recipes based on page views, shares and social activity, then mines this data to discover trends that it can serve up to grocery retailers and producers, helping them know what to stock.
Gobbling Up Data
As the centerpiece of the Thanksgiving table, turkey carries a lot of weight for consumers. Poultry farmers know this demand equals big business for them. In Minnesota, where the majority of our nation’s turkeys are produced, around 30% of the annual yield is bought just for Thanksgiving.
Companies like Cargill ensure their birds stay healthy and nutritious by closely monitoring feed nutrition data. Examining this data yielded insights that dictate the optimal level of phytases and crude proteins in turkey feed.
For brands that want this level of insight into food safety, Pew suggests that “robust data collection, analysis and sharing are fundamental components” for a modern inspection system that intends to reduce contaminative diseases like salmonella.
Farmers are already realizing the potential in harnessing data in order to improve yields, as emphasized by Infoworld’s Yves de Montcheuil. He notes that these days, “There is little room left for guesswork or empirical farming; the entire process of producing fresh food has been fully digitalized.” So enjoy this year’s Thanksgiving with that little extra bit of food for thought.