Characteristics of digital marketing of food outlets selling prepared foods: analysis of Instagram posts

Abstract

Digital marketing is one of the dimensions of the food environment that increasingly influences eating habits. It is one of the factors contributing to increased consumption of out-of-home foods, which has been associated with negative health outcomes. In this context, the objective of the study was to analyze the content of Instagram posts featuring retail food outlets that sell prepared foods in Montevideo, the capital city of Uruguay. A multistep approach to analyze Instagram posts of food outlets selling prepared foods available on a meal delivery app. A total of 293 Instagram accounts were identified, which generated 5,454 posts between August 15th, 2020, and February 15th, 2021. The visual and textual content of the posts were analyzed using deductive-inductive coding. Results showed that the great majority (80%) of the outlets available in the meal ordering app had an Instagram account, most of which (68%) posted content in their feed in the 6-months period considered in the present work. The Instagram accounts promoted a diversity of dishes, foods, and beverages; most of which typically contain excessive amounts of sugars, fat, saturated fats, and/or sodium (burger, pizza, ice-cream, sandwiches and wraps, pastries, cakes and desserts). Instagram posts included several marketing techniques to increase persuasiveness, including price promotions, and cues to establish interactions with users. The visual and textual content of the posts promoted the food outlets by referring to a wide range of topics, which can be regarded as an attempt to maximize the persuasiveness of the post by triggering both systematic and heuristic information processing. These results show that marketing of food outlets selling prepared foods on Instagram is a relevant characteristic of the digital food environment that needs to be addressed as part of comprehensive marketing regulations.