Author: Sam Houston

We’ve been exploring AI search for brands here at Hungry, particularly what it means for food and drink businesses. Each week seems to bring something new to try, something useful to learn and something we’re perhaps less sure about. We’re still working out where it fits into our lives and businesses, but it makes sense to get to know it.

For food and drink brands, one place to start is with a simple question: how is your brand’s story being told by AI? We’ve been exploring AI search for food and drink brands here at Hungry, and there are a few useful things you can try.

You may already be turning to ChatGPT or Gemini for questions you would once have put into Google. Imagine you’re buying a bottle of gin for a friend. You could open a few websites and compare the options. Or you could explain that your friend likes citrus flavours, that you’d like a British producer with an interesting story and that your budget is £40.

With AI, you can explore suggestions, ask about the makers and find out where to buy, all in the same conversation. Before visiting a brand’s website, you may already have learned quite a bit about it.

That’s what we’ve been looking at here at Hungry. AI search can bring together information from different places, so it’s useful to check what it says about your brand and who is helping tell that story. Here are five things you can do to start finding out.

1. AI search for brands: what does it say about yours?

Start by asking ChatGPT, Gemini or Google AI Mode: “Tell me about [brand]. What does it make, who is behind it and where can I buy it?”

Next search in your preferred AI search again. Try: “What does [brand] make, who is behind it and where can I buy it?”

Are the answers right? Has it missed something important?

It may be useful to note down: Did it find you, are opening times correct, is pricing correct, contact information available, location/website, where to buy and other details which may be important. Note if the details are accurate, inaccurate or if there is something missing.

Then start a fresh conversation without naming your brand – a non-branded search. For example if you’re a brewery, ask these questions one after another in the same conversation:

“Which independent British breweries make pale ales that would be good as a gift?”

“What about breweries in Lancashire?”

“Can I order a mixed case online for under £35?”

Try a few ways of asking, including words a customer might use, such as ‘best’, ‘local’ or ‘gift’

Does your brewery appear as you narrow the options? Is it mentioned, linked or recommended for a reason? Save the questions and answers with the date and tool you used. Try a few variations too. One answer is a snapshot, but it can give you a useful starting point.

2 Answer the questions behind the purchase

Think about what your customers want to know beyond the product itself.

Who is it for? What’s the occasion? Do they care where it’s made, who founded the business or how the ingredients are sourced? A retailer will have different questions again, about case sizes, distribution and supply.

Write down the questions you’re already asked and use them to improve your product pages, FAQs and content.

Explain a flavour, share a serving idea or tell people why you chose a particular ingredient.

3. Make the basics easy to find and check

Start with the product pages on your website. Would someone who has never heard of you find everything they need to decide whether to buy? That could include ingredients, allergens, flavour, pack size, price, where to buy and delivery details. For alcoholic drinks, include the ABV.

Some details may seem obvious to you, but could make all the difference to someone choosing a product. Think about trade buyers too. Can they find case sizes, supply information and someone to contact?

Write these details clearly on the relevant website pages, rather than leaving people to read them from a photograph of the packaging.

Then check the information on retailer and distributor websites. Ask for anything outdated or incorrect to be updated, so customers get accurate information wherever they find you.

4. Give your social content enough context

Your social content can reach beyond your followers. Public posts and videos can also appear in AI search answers, giving people another way to discover your brand and hear from the people behind it.

A cocktail reel or a beautiful product shot can catch someone’s eye. Make sure the caption helps them understand it too. Name the brand and product, explain what you’re showing and share a useful detail about the flavour, ingredients or how it’s made. Add clear on-screen captions to videos too.

Let people hear from the people behind the brand: a founder explaining an ingredient, a brewer talking through a new release or a chef sharing a recipe. Link back to your website too where possible.

5. How PR can help your brand appear in AI search

Open the articles, stockist pages and reviews linked in AI answers.

Are the facts right? Do they explain what makes your product interesting? You may find an old description is still doing the rounds, or that an important part of your story is missing.

This is where PR can help.

Coverage in a trusted newspaper, food title or drinks publication can give your story independent credibility. These articles may also become sources for AI answers, which gives relevant, well-informed press coverage another valuable role in helping people discover your brand.

Give journalists and relevant publications a story worth sharing, whether that’s the people behind the business, a distinctive production process or the thinking behind a new product. Help stockists tell it accurately too.

At Hungry, this brings together the PR, content, social and digital work we do with food and drink brands.

The easiest way to get familiar with AI search for brands is to try it for your own business.

Three things to try this week

• Ask an AI search tool one customer question without naming your brand. Check the answer and its sources.
• Improve one product page by answering a question your customers regularly ask.
• Use that question for a social post, sharing a useful answer and linking to more detail on your website.

If this has made you curious about how your brand appears in AI search, we’d love to hear from you. We can help you explore what’s being said, spot what’s missing and decide which content to create next.

Hannah at Team Hungry

At Hungry Communications, our recipe development for food brands is built around the moments people are already talking about. September means children returning to school, summer holidays ending and work diaries filling up again, so quick lunches, after-school food and speedy weeknight meals are firmly back on the agenda.

Our recipe of the month is designed for exactly that. These Quick JAZZ™ Apple Quesadillas combine crisp apple, melted cheese, red onion, chilli and coriander in toasted tortillas. They take just a few minutes to cook and work equally well as a lunchtime dish, an after-school snack or something speedy after work.

At Hungry Communications, we develop recipes around the moments people are actually experiencing. Back-to-school, back-to-work and quick midweek food are all strong seasonal hooks, giving journalists and food writers useful content at precisely the time their readers are searching for it.

Of course, content like this is planned long before the school gates reopen. Our editorial calendar looks months ahead, taking into account the different lead times across monthly magazines, newspapers, websites and social media.

We develop and photograph seasonal recipes in advance, so they are ready to send at exactly the right moment, whether a journalist is planning a September issue six months ahead or looking for a recipe to publish tomorrow.

Why Recipe Development Works for Food and Drink Brands

Recipe development gives food and drink brands a natural way to demonstrate how their products can be used and enjoyed.

We work with recipe developers, chefs and other food experts to find combinations that suit the product, the brand and the wider story. When possible, we also style and shoot everything in-house, creating a complete bank of words and images that can be used across PR, websites, social media and wider marketing.

Recipe content is consistently in demand across women’s lifestyle titles, food and drink publications, newspaper food pages and online recipe sections. Many national and regional news websites also publish recipes every day, creating regular opportunities for relevant, well-timed content.

Crucially, a good recipe allows the product to sit naturally at the centre of the story. The brand name appears in the ingredients and method, while the finished dish shows consumers exactly what the product can do. Each piece of coverage helps build familiarity and gives people another reason to remember the brand.

Quick JAZZ™ Apple Quesadillas Recipe

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 3 JAZZ™ Apples, finely diced
• 300g cheese
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 3 red chillies, finely diced
• A handful of chopped coriander
• 12 tortillas
• A green salad, to serve
• A little oil, for cooking

Method

Heat a large frying pan over a medium heat and add a touch of oil.

Place the first tortilla in the pan, then layer it with the diced JAZZ™ Apple, red onion, chilli, cheese and coriander.

Place another tortilla on top. Add a plate or another suitable weight to press the quesadilla down while it cooks.

Cook for three to four minutes, then carefully turn it over and cook for the same amount of time on the other side.

Slice into segments and serve with a green salad.

Food and Drink Recipe Development

At Hungry Communications, we develop recipes, photography and seasonal content ideas that help food and drink brands become part of the stories people are already interested in.

From identifying the right editorial hook to recipe development, styling, photography and media outreach, we create content with a clear purpose and plenty of potential uses.

Keep an eye on the Hungry Communications blog for more recipes and ideas from the brands we work with.

If you would like to put your product at the centre of timely, relevant food and drink content, give us a shout.

Hannah

When brands think about brand sponsorship marketing, it’s easy to focus on an event itself. But the most successful sponsorships don’t begin and end on the day. With the right planning, a single sponsorship can generate PR, social media content, photography and stories that continue long after the crowds have gone home.

At Hungry Communications, we believe great brand sponsorship marketing is about much more than putting your logo on a banner and getting a post up on social media. It’s about creating meaningful moments that connect with your audience and making sure every opportunity works as hard as possible for your brand.

A recent example is our work with JAZZ™ Apple, which returned for its fifth year as a sponsor of the Bournemouth Pier to Pier Swim in support of the British Heart Foundation. Thousands of swimmers took part in the event, with JAZZ™ Apples on hand to help participants refuel after crossing the finish line.

The event itself was a fantastic success, but also highlights what makes an effective sponsorship campaign.

Why brand sponsorship marketing starts with the right fit

JAZZ™ Apple champions healthy, active lifestyles and making movement part of your everyday. That meant the Bournemouth Pier to Pier Swim was the perfect partnership. Rather than simply giving out apples, JAZZ™ were supporting an event that reflects its values while offering something genuinely useful to participants at exactly the right moment.

People are far more likely to engage with a brand when it feels like a natural part of the experience, rather than an interruption.

Think beyond the event

A successful event should never be a one-day marketing opportunity.

With a little forward planning, one sponsorship can create content and stories that continue to support your marketing long after the event has finished.

That might include:

• PR coverage before and after the event
• Photography for future campaigns
• Social media content
• Website and blog content (hello!)
• Retailer and trade communications
• Email newsletters

So don’t view these as separate activities, they should all be part of the same campaign.

Every event has a story to tell

One of the biggest opportunities brands miss is storytelling and it’s the part we love most about PR and Marketing.

Before an event even begins, we ask questions like:

• What’s the story here?
• Why will people care?
• What images do we need?
• How can we keep talking about this after the event?
• What will make us stand out?

Planning these answers in advance means every event delivers far more than a few social media posts. It becomes an opportunity to build brand awareness, strengthen relationships with customers and generate content that can be used across multiple channels.

Making your sponsorship marketing work harder

Sponsorships require time, budget and commitment, so it’s important to maximise their value.

Rather than treating an event as a standalone activity, we look at how every element can contribute to a wider communications campaign. A single activation can support PR, social media, websites, email marketing and future campaigns, helping brands get more from the investment they’ve already made.

That’s exactly why integrated campaigns continue to deliver stronger results than isolated marketing activity.

Looking beyond the finish line

The Bournemouth Pier to Pier Swim is a great example of how the right partnership can become much more than event sponsorship.

By choosing an event that aligns with the brand, planning content around the experience and creating opportunities for ongoing storytelling, JAZZ™ Apple was able to support an important charity event while building positive engagement with thousands of participants.

At Hungry Communications, that’s how we approach sponsorship marketing. We don’t just think about the event itself. We think about everything that comes before it, everything that happens on the day, and all the opportunities that follow.

Because the best sponsorships don’t stop at the finish line.

Planning a sponsorship or brand activation? We’d love to help you turn it into a campaign that keeps delivering long after the event is over. Get in touch with the Hungry Communications team to find out more.

Hannah

Each month we share some of the stories, features and campaigns the Hungry team has been working on.

This month’s Press Coverage of the Month looks a little different, as we’re sharing a piece written by Hungry’s own MD, Sam Houston for Stir It Up magazine.

As a food and drink PR agency, storytelling is a huge part of what we do. Whether it’s securing media coverage, creating content or finding the people behind a brand, it all starts with understanding what makes a story interesting.

The coverage

Sam interviewed hospitality legend David Mulcahy for the June issue of Stir It Up as part of its Leading Lights series.

The feature explores David’s incredible career, his work supporting the hospitality industry and his passion for inspiring the next generation of chefs, including through initiatives such as Springboard FutureChef.

Why this story matters

Behind every great piece of coverage is a great story.

The interview works because it goes beyond David’s career achievements and looks at the experience, passion and knowledge behind them.

It’s a reminder that some of the strongest stories come from the people shaping an industry and the ideas they have to share.

David has played a huge role in shaping the future of hospitality, supporting chefs at every stage of their careers and helping to shine a light on new talent entering the industry.

Why it worked

Before Hungry Communications, Sam spent almost 20 years as a journalist, interviewing people, finding stories and creating content for leading publications.

That editorial experience is still at the heart of what we do today, helping food and drink brands find their voice, share their stories and connect with the right audiences.

You can read Sam’s full interview with David Mulcahy in the June issue of Stir It Up magazine here: June 26 SIU_MR final

Takeaway from a food and drink PR agency

This was a brilliant conversation with one of hospitality’s leading voices and another reminder that there are always great stories to be told in food and drink.

Thanks for reading. Hannah