July Recipe Wrap-Up
Welcome back to Chicory’s Monthly Recipe Wrap-Up! We tap into our network of 5,200+ food publishers to understand how consumers are engaging with and viewing recipe content week-by-week - arming CPG brands and agencies with the right insights to tap into audience mindsets, reach inspired consumers, and plan their next contextual commerce media campaign.
Let’s uncover key patterns, trending ingredients, and popular recipes from July, and see how we can become your trusted partner in building a contextual commerce strategy.
Insight #1: Recipe Sundays (Again)
We mentioned it last month - Sunday peaks and Friday valleys are some of the most consistent online recipe trends. With the exception of holidays, the beginning and end of the weekend present critical opportunities for CPG brands who want to target audiences strategically on online recipe pages.
Last Sunday the 28th saw a 30% increase in recipe page visits on top publication sites when compared to the Friday before it.
The types of recipes that perform well on these high exposure days fall into three different categories: deserts, appetizers, and easy-to-make recipes.
Dishes that cracked the top 15 recipes viewed on Sunday the 28th and 21st included No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars, Sand Dollar Cookies, Garlic Butter Steak Bites, and Pull Apart Queso Sliders. Compare this to more traditional recipes that are popular on weekdays, like Chicken Crunch Salad or Spaghetti.
So what does this all mean for CPG brands and agencies, exactly?
Takeaway
When it comes to exposure, it’s clear that Sundays will be a consistent winning day for online recipe usage. Conversely, Fridays consistently see the least usage. These stronger and weaker days can serve as anchor points for campaigns, and help CPG brands understand when to target audiences for high-impressions.
Understanding what audiences are thinking is equally critical for any brand’s targeting strategy. It’s clear that consumers are looking for easy-to-make desserts and appetizers at the end of the weekend, so leveraging keywords like “Easy”, “Simple”, and “No-Bake” can be actionable additions to your targeting strategy.
The fact that Fridays see dips and Sundays see peaks could also act as indications that consumers start to think of recipes and meal planning again as the week kicks off. Ultimately, it’s important that brands and agencies are aware of the variety of mindsets high-intent audiences have, and to shape their targeting strategies accordingly.
Insight #2: A Non-Alcoholic Summer
Online beverage recipes see dramatic change season-to-season. Now that we’re in the dog days of summer, how does this affect what beverage recipes consumers are using?
Last month, we took a look at the top searched cocktails - let’s see which mocktails and non-alcoholic beverages have been the most popular in July.
Takeaway
The most surprising takeaway here is that only one mocktail cracked the top ten non-alcoholic beverage recipes in July. Lemonade and any variation of cold coffee (whether iced or cold brew), were among some of the most popular drinks searched in the last month.
The fact that lemonade variations like blueberry, strawberry, and whipped frozen lemonade all were amongst the highest searched beverages in July present a prime opportunity for brands and agencies looking to align with seasonal flavors and in-season produce as we approach the tail-end of summer 2024.
Insight #3: Dinner Trends
In July, oven-baked meals were the go-to for consumers looking for online dinner recipes. In fact, recipes that required an oven for cooking accounted for three of the five most viewed dinner recipes in July.
Salmon and chicken were the top two proteins featured in July’s dinner recipes.
Takeaway
Dinner recipes, like breakfast, don’t usually see large changes based on the time of year - sporting events and holidays, however, can attribute to quick, spur-of-the-moment trends in online recipe usage.
Still, there’s plenty of opportunity for CPG brands to leverage July’s dinner insights. CPG brands and agencies can leverage the popularity behind oven-baked recipes to shape their future targeting strategies.