June Recipe Wrap-Up
Welcome to the first edition of 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 shopping month-by-month - 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 the last month, and see how we can become your trusted partner in building a contextual commerce strategy.
Insight #1: Recipe Sundays
One of the more consistent online recipe trends is the Sunday peak - Last Sunday on the 23rd saw a 32% increase in searched up recipes on top publication sites, when compared to performance just a few days prior on the 21st.
A monthly view hammers home just how consistent this trend is. There is, however, one exception to this rule: Memorial Day. Note the first peak in the line graph below. Holidays will more often than not see spikes in recipe viewership, no matter the cause.
Takeaway
Easy and simple recipes were a category that performed particularly well last Sunday. Dishes like One-Pan Chicken, Easy Healthy Baked Salmon, and Lazy Peach Cobbler all cracked the top 15 recipes viewed on Sunday the 23rd. There are a number of reasons why this could be. Consumers could be seeking simple recipes to make during the week when they're more time-constrained, looking for easy recipes on that specific Sunday, or both!
Regardless, leveraging keywords for Sunday-specific dishes like “Easy”, “Simple” and “One-Pan” can act as an actionable, mindset-forward targeting strategy aimed at audiences looking to end the weekend with something effortless.
Insight #2: Seasonal Sips
Summer is in full swing. Seasonal audience behavior dominates the online beverage recipe space, and the last two weeks show it.
Let’s look at the top searched cocktails in the last two weeks to see just how dramatic these changes are.
Takeaways
Rum dominates
Rum-based drinks take up three of the top five most searched cocktails from June 10th to June 23rd. Over 73,000 views have amassed from these drinks alone.
Margarita variants
One of the most classic summer drinks, Margaritas, saw over 12,000 views over the last two weeks. Classic Margarita recipes reign supreme, with mezcal and frozen variants falling just shorter.
Fruit-based Drinks
Top fruit-based drinks of the summer include Palomas, Strawberry Daiquiris, Bloody Marys, and Lemon Drop Martinis - all amounting to over 21,000 views on top publisher websites.
Insight #3: Breakfast Trends
Eggs saw overwhelming representation in breakfast recipes. The most important meal of the day also inspired audiences to see what recipes they could make from bacon, sausages, and pancakes, all of which saw 50% less views than egg-based recipes on top publication sites.
Interestingly enough, even though it fell to fourth place in overall views, pancake recipes accounted for the two of the top three breakfast recipes viewed from the last month.
Takeaway
While seasonal swings, holidays, and even sporting events can have dramatic effects on what recipe content consumers are searching for, breakfast falls in a more conservative category.
However, while ingredients in this category rarely face dramatic change, we’ll keep an eye out on breakfast recipe trends emerging month-to-month as trends like healthier breakfast recipes emerge.
Final Thoughts
From Sunday recipe peaks to summer beverage favorites, customer-centric insights cut through the cookie-less fog. Engaging consumers in the right mindset is critical - these insights amplify the potential in leveraging the customer mindset, and driving grocery sales through contextual commerce media.
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