Food influencers: why and how to approach them for your restaurant?

The food influencer is now at the forefront of the marketing scene. This strategy, which has become an undeniable lever of visibility, should not be overlooked by restaurateurs. There are, of course, many ways to boost your online reputation, but using a food influencer offers a number of advantages.

4 out of 5 Internet users consume a product recommended by a content creator. Influencer marketing today has significant, even viral, traffic-generating power.

So viral that a restaurant's rise in patronage after calling on @leguideultime and his 155k followers, led to its administrative closure in March 2020. The influencer had shared with his community the good deal: kebabs offered by the Chich restaurant, which created a mob and caused the police to intervene in a sanitary context. The reach of these players on social media is thus very strong, instantaneous and reaches a large audience.

But why is influencer marketing gaining so much momentum? Who are these content creators that everyone follows? Who should you contact? How do you approach them? Our answers and our selection of the capital's 20 food influencers in this article.

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We also give you THE solution to get the best food influencers into your restaurant without wasting time! The HEMBLEM app takes care of your influencer marketing strategy! Read more in this article.

1) Why does influencer marketing work so well?

What is it?

Just like the creators of beauty, travel and sports content, the food influencer has a community. This community, which varies in size depending on the influencer's seniority, the quality of his publications and the relevance of his recommendations, becomes attached to him, believes in him and commits to him.

Influencer marketing is therefore based on a collaboration, usually indirect, between the restaurateur and the influencer contacted. With or without financial compensation, in exchange for a certain amount of relayed content or a simple offer to come and try your address for free, this marketing strategy must be adapted to your values and those of the influencer. But the end result remains the same. If the influencer has enjoyed his or her experience in your restaurant, he or she will share the address, in video, photos or reportage, with his or her loyal audience. Each post/story thus generates engagement and trust among thousands of Internet users, and spreads the word about your establishment.

What's all the fuss about?

Today's customers want to be sure of a restaurant's quality before they visit. And they do this via Google reviews, recommendations from influential people or word of mouth. But it's Instagram that's playing an increasingly important role in the selection process, with 38% of users who view food content on the network. The impact of Instagram (for certain types of restaurant) is now proving stronger and more instantaneous than journalism, for example. Why is this? Shared content attracts, and videos in particular are a big hit.

The advantages of using a food influencer (and then others) for the restaurateur

You raise your profile thanks to the influencer's, which in turn leads to more traffic to your restaurant, and therefore more bookings. And all within an almost immediate timeframe. An approach that requires a much lower budget than media advertising. Experienced intermediaries for whom social media holds no secrets. A loyal community that deliberately follows the influencer, so your image is far removed from intrusive advertising. You can also improve your local SEO if the food influencer has a blog in which you're mentioned ( Paris with charlotte blog).

2) Who are the capital's most-followed content creators?

Here you'll find our selection of the 20 hottest food influencers in Paris. This list is in no particular order, as it's your restaurant's identity and your objectives that will determine the most coherent food influencer.

👆 Antoine Milesi👆

Instagram account: @lestreetfoodist

Subscribers: 102k

Location: 73% France

Engaging video content, notoriety on TikTok too

Type of restaurants: mainly street food

👆 Noémie👆

Instagram account: @spicynoemie

Subscribers: 10.5k

Location: 81% France

Fun videos explaining the restaurant, humor

Restaurant type: street food

👆 Morgan Abbou👆

Instagram account: @morganabbou

Subscribers: 106k

Location: 24% France

Varied content formats, try out numerous addresses

Restaurant types: gourmet, bistronomic, bistro, neighborhood, brunch, pastry...

👆 Alexis Lhabouz👆

Instagram account: @foodeaseparis

Subscribers: 96k

Location: 79% France

High-quality photos, specialized in foodporn, try many addresses

Type of restaurants: all kinds, but especially like to showcase small, independent establishments that make homemade food and use quality products.

Creation: 2016

👆 Constance Lasserre👆

Instagram account: @hungryconsti

Subscribers: 125k

Location: 83% France

Real videos mainly, try many addresses

Restaurant types: fast food, street food, coffee shops, neighbourhood restaurants, world cuisine

Creation: 2019

👆 Charlotte Chateau👆

Instagram account: @pariswithcharlotte

Subscribers: 47k

Location: 66% France

High-quality photos, staging, try out many addresses, lifestyle

Restaurant types: gastronomic, bistronomic, bistrots, neighbourhood restaurants, patisseries

Creation: 2017

👆 Alexis 👆

Instagram account: @leparisdalexis

Subscribers: 129k

Location: 80% France

Foodporn videos, try many addresses

Restaurant types: fast food, street food, coffee shop, world cuisine, neighbourhood restaurant

👆 Clara👆

Instagram account: @greymoonflowers

Subscribers: 5.5k

Location: 60% France

High-quality, professional photos

Restaurant types: local restaurant, brasserie, coffee shop, brunch, bakery

👆 Sylvaine👆

Instagram account: @sissyinparis

Subscribers: 12k

Location: 58% France

High-quality photos, staging, try out many addresses, also lifestyle

Restaurant types: coffee shop, neighbourhood restaurant, brunch, street food

Creation: 2019

👆 Imperatrice Wu👆

Instagram account: @imperatricewu

Subscribers: 148k

Location: 79% France

Try many addresses in the form of Reels

Restaurant types: gourmet to street food, world cuisine, Asian cuisine

👆 Astrid👆

Instagram account: @a.coup.de.food

Subscribers: 6.5k

Location: 56% France

Try out many addresses, share content, especially photos

Restaurant types: casual, street food, brunches, snacks, bakeries...

👆 Popcorn Paris👆

Instagram account: @popcornparis

Subscribers: 74k

Location: 34% France

High-quality, playful photos, try out numerous addresses

Restaurant types: bistronomic, gourmet, brunch, travel

👆 Laura 👆

Instagram account: @amangeretavoir

Subscribers: 11.3k

Location: 77.4% France

Very high quality photos, staging, tried many addresses, moved to Amsterdam but continues to test in Paris when she returns.

Restaurant types: coffee shop, neighbourhood restaurant, brunch, street food, patisserie

Creation: 2018

👆Andréa👆

Instagram account: @taplafood

Subscribers: 31k

Location: 74% France

Contents in the form of videos, try out numerous addresses and recipes

Restaurant types: all kinds of restaurants, from street food to brasseries to neighbourhood restaurants, patisseries

👆Nathanaël👆

Instagram account: @paname_in_my_belly

Subscribers: 173k

Location: 75% France

Gourmet "foodporn" videos, good tips/best addresses, value for money

Restaurant types: street food, world cuisine

👆Clarisse👆

Instagram account: @eatsclarisse

Subscribers: 3.7k

Location: 45% France

Beautiful photos

Restaurant types: neighborhood restaurants, brasseries, trendy restaurants

👆Jess & Milan👆

Instagram account: @foodgasm_travel

Subscribers: 106k

Location: 80% France

Highly engaging video content

Restaurant types: brasseries, neighbourhood restaurants, street food, patisseries, gouters, value-for-money restaurants

👆Louise👆

Instagram account: @1foodieparis

Subscribers: 50k

Location: 50% France

Quality photos

Restaurant types: street food, casual dining, brasseries, gouters

👆 Laura 👆

Instagram account: @instabrunchparis

Subscribers: 109k

Location: 66% France

High-quality photos, staging, lifestyle, try out many addresses

Restaurant types: pastry shops, coffee shops, brunch

Creation: 2017

👆 Culturefoood👆

Instagram account: @culturefoood

Subscribers: 39.7k

Location: 68% France

High-quality, natural photos, try many addresses

Restaurant types: all kinds of restaurants, from gourmet to street food

3) How do you choose a food influencer?

Macro or micro influencer?

There are influencers with millions of followers, but more and more micro-influencers are coming to the fore. With a smaller community, they establish a stronger bond of proximity. Smaller and therefore more targeted, you need to strategically choose your food influencer according to his or her area of expertise. Less solicited than a "star", they also have more time to respond to your requests. These micro-influencers bring just as much, if not more, traffic to your restaurant than a macro food influencer. Nevertheless, star influencers reach a much wider audience, and their recommendations carry a lot of weight. But using such a personality comes at a higher cost, so you need to allocate a real budget to your marketing.

Selection criteria

The most important thing is not the number of subscribers, but community engagement. The engagement rate refers to the percentage of Internet users who interact with a publication in relation to the total number of subscribers. To find out the latter, we use the Kolsquare application, which gives you not only engagement, but also the origin of Internet users, the growth in subscriptions, etc. So, the more the community reacts to the food influencer's shares, the more likely they are to follow his or her recommendations and visit your establishment. Your objective remains to see a return on investment following their visit.

Not all influencers match the image your restaurant wants to project. So you need to select those who align with your values and identity, but also with your campaign objectives and target audience. Find out more about your food influencer based on :

• The quality of the content shared: quality of photos, videos, aesthetics of the feed...
• Type of content shared: photos, videos, carousels, reels...
• Type of restaurants tried: street food, bistronomic, brunch, coffee shop, wine bar, gourmet...
• Location: presence in the same major city
• The origin of the creator: if you make Algerian food, an influencer from that same country will reach a clientele sensitive to your cuisine.
• His background

Don't forget that food influencers also have their own selection criteria before accepting (or not) your request! To avoid disappointing his community, he carefully selects the addresses he will share with them.

4) How do I approach a food influencer?

What approaches can you put into practice to make an influential figure want to visit you? To increase our customers' visibility, we follow a precise approach, as we do here for Pizzou. You'll find many of our tips below.

First approach?

Above all, don't come across as pushy or aggressive. Content creators should be attracted by the idea of an experience, not a marketing tool. Set up an initial contact by e-mail for more professionalism, or private message on Instagram if the influencer requests it in their bio. Before you start writing any kind of e-mail, it's imperative that you know who you're getting in touch with: what topics he or she writes about, in which media, in what tone, how often? All these indicators will enable you to create an e-mail with the best chance of being opened and read attentively by your contact. Go even further in the personalization of your approach with little attentions specific to his or her pet peeves or dietary regimes.

When should you establish an influencer marketing strategy?

Of course, if you do it all year round, that's great. But we know that finding, selecting, canvassing and welcoming content creators takes time. So focus on opportune moments: your opening, the launch of new products on the menu or in the room, important dates in the year...

Their selection criteria

Just like you, influencers stay true to themselves and only accept proposals from restaurants that are consistent with their values. According to an interview conducted by Benady Conseils with 4 food influencers, they mainly look at the quality and atmosphere of the place through photos available on the Internet and Instagram, but also authenticity, the menu, the concept and presence in certain press articles. Anticipate their research to put you in the spotlight: incorporate pretty photos in your invitation e-mail.

What do they expect from you?

Alexis from @leparisdalexis shares his expectations in an interview with FastGoodDigital: "I'm here to have fun and to share with my subscribers what I'm going to try. It really has to be a nice relationship with the restaurateur when he contacts me". In fact, for influencers to convey a positive image of your establishment, they need to enjoy their experience as much as possible. So pamper them, book them the nicest table, take care of them, make sure they don't miss out on anything. Don't hesitate to take a little time to sit at their table when they come to discover your restaurant, exchange a few words with them, describe the concept to them in person.

In terms of "remuneration", what do influencers expect?

The vast majority of micro-influencers don't ask to be paid, simply invited to taste for free. To maximize the experience, and according to feedback from certain influencers, it's still preferable to offer a meal for 2 for greater conviviality, to also offer drinks to accompany the dishes, and not to impose a "special influencer" menu, but to leave the choice of the usual menu.

What if the influencer didn't enjoy the experience?

Following a bad experience, the food influencer generally doesn't share the address, but privately informs the restaurateur or agency in charge of the shortcomings encountered. If there are any complaints that need to be shared with the community, some influencers share them without wishing to ruin the professional's career, but rather to inform.

What happens next?

Send the food influencer an e-mail thanking them for coming. Share with him any feedback from your customers who came on his behalf, reports of increased traffic, etc. Show your appreciation.

5) What if approaching food influencers just got easier?

With the HEMBLEM application, your influencer marketing strategy just got easier! How does it work? The app puts you in touch with the best food influencers for your restaurant!

From the Hemblem application, content creators ask to try out your establishment. All you have to do is process the requests, manage them according to the influencer schedule available in your account, and then follow the results of the many creators who have visited your establishment!

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