One of the oldest and most popular influencer niches on social media is food and cooking. These food influencers are generating awareness for the latest cuisine trends, as well as encouraging fans to try different types of food and recommending quality brands.
18 food influencers to follow on social media right now
Top 6 food influencers on Instagram
1. Carleigh Bodrug – Plant You (5.3M)
As Plant You, content creator Carleigh Bodrug shares plant-based, zero-waste recipes on her Instagram and blog. Carleigh’s content focuses on sustainable, vegan living. She’s a NY-times bestselling author and recently collaborated on Benny Blanco’s cookbook “Open Wide”.
2. Danielle Brown – HealthyGirl Kitchen (5.2M)
As founder of HealthyGirl Kitchen, Danielle Brown shares healthy, vegan recipes. In addition to Instagram, almost three million TikTok followers watch her easy, plant-based cooking videos.
3. Yumna Jawad – Feel Good Foodie (4.7M)
Michigan-based content creator Yumna Jawad shares healthy, Mediterranean-inspired recipes on Instagram and TikTok. The food blogger also founded an overnight oats brand called Oath Oats.
4. Maya Leinenbach – Fit Green Mind (4M)
Germany-based, vegan food influencer Maya Leinenbach is just 20 years old, but she’s built a dedicated community on Instagram and TikTok. Through her handle @fitgreenmind, Maya shares vegan recipes and “What I Eat in a Day” style videos.
5. iRick Wiggins – Ketosnackz (3.4M)
Irick Wiggins became Instagram famous for his fast-paced, keto-friendly cooking videos. Known as Ketosnackz, Irick shares videos of low-carb keto meals he made during his 80 lbs weight loss.
6. Samantha Schnur – The Naughty Fork (2.3M)
Sam Schnur shares recipes for “naughty’ or guilty pleasure foods like charcuterie nachos, chicken wings, and honey butter biscuits. The Miami food influencer has featured Oreo, Burger King, Poppi, and other brands on The Naughty Fork.
Top 7 food influencers on TikTok
1. Jordan Howlett – @jordan_the_stallion8 (13.8M)
Jordan Howlett rose to fame for his Fast Food Secrets Club—a series revealing fast food chain’s hidden menu items, recipes, and other hacks. He’s become a social media sensation, collaborating with celebs like Donald Glover and Halle Berry. With over four million YouTube subscribers and 12 million Instagram followers, he’s also in high demand for brand sponsorships.
Partners: Beats, Lionsgate, YouTube, Manscaped
2. Ivan McCombs – @rkihd (11.2M)
Known as “Ramen King” on TikTok, Ivan McCombs gained popularity by combining ramen recipes with ASMR. In addition to ramen, his TikTok videos include calming ASMR videos of him trying crunchy snacks, soaps, and more.
3. Sam Way – @samseats (9.9M)
Self-taught home cook and food influencer Sam Way shares fast-paced cooking videos. He started posting TikToks to show potential employers his skills, but when the videos quickly gained millions of views, he became a full-time content creator.
Partners: Ninja, Nespresso
4. Stefan Johnson – @s_johnson_voiceovers (8.4M)
Stefan Johnson is a professional voiceover artist based in Cleveland. He’s also one of the most popular TikTok food influencers with over 8 million followers. Another 2 million follow Stefan on YouTube and Instagram, tuning into his comedic reviews of restaurants and trending foods.
5. Logan Moffitt – @logagm (7.1M)
Known as “Cucumber Guy” for his viral TikTok recipe, Logan Moffitt shares quick and often Asian-inspired recipes. The 23-year-old Canadian is now a rising star on the platform and has attracted the attention of brands like DoorDash and Sephora.
Partners: Knorr, Ninja, Chipotle
6. Benji Xavier – @benjixavier (3.9M)
Food influencer Benji Xavier shares easy-to-make healthy recipes that helped him during his 100lb-weight loss journey. His content inspires others to eat healthy without sacrificing flavor.
Partners: Bloom Nutrition
7. Meredith Hayden – @wishbonekitchen (2.3M)
Meredith Hayden first trended on TikTok by sharing her life as a private chef in the Hamptons. The behind-the-scenes look at luxury dining and lifestyle inspired more TikTok creators to share content under the #privatechefhamptons hashtag. As one of the early creators, Meredith attracted Google, Netflix, and other big brand sponsors.
Partners: Pringles, Netflix, Subaru, Kerrygold
Top 5 influencer food bloggers
1. Joshua Weissman
Joshua Weissman is a professional chef who learned to cook as a way to cope with being bullied at school. Since both his parents were competent cooks, he learned many basic cooking skills from an early age. After achieving success in fine dining venues, he launched his blog to share tips, recipes, and connect with fans.
2. Half Baked Harvest – Tieghan Gerard
Tieghan Gerard is the creator behind Half Baked Harvest. The food blog expanded into a well-known social media brand and cookbook series. Tieghan shares cozy, rustic recipes with high-quality photography. She’s partnered with Anthropologie, Crate and Barrel, and Home Chef.
3. Pinch of Yum – Lindsay Ostrom
A former teacher, Lindsay Ostrom started the Pinch of Yum blog as a hobby. She has become one of the most successful food bloggers with over 5 million monthly blog views.
4. Sally’s Baking Addiction – Sally McKenney
Sally McKenney has over one million Instagram followers and a dedicated audience of readers on her blog Sally’s Baking Addiction. The self-taught, home baker began the blog as a personal project. Today, it’s one of the most-read baking blogs, with 25 million monthly page views.
5. Shivesh Bhatia
Shivesh Bhatia learned to write in college where he majored in political science. Almost immediately, he found his calling as a baking influencer on Instagram and eventually launched his blog to maintain a collection of his fans’ favorite dessert recipes.
The evolution of foodie influencers
Te Dong is an LA-based sushi chef. He loves booze, too. Want to know what pairs best with a hamachi nigiri? Visit his page to find out that and plenty more!
When Instagram was brand new, one of the most popular posts was a snapped picture of food. It became a trend that stuck and is now a foodie tradition.
At first, people simply wanted to capture the beauty of a well-presented meal from their favorite restaurant. Or, they wanted to show off their dining experience to friends and family.
Today, foodie creators hone their craft to not just snap a shot of their entree, but to also tell a story behind their food photos and videos. Similarly, cooking creators use various online platforms to show fans special flavors and techniques. Food influencers encompass both restaurateurs and cooks with varying skill levels but each with their own authentic perspective.
What is the connection between food influencers and the food industry?
Most food creators specialize in content in one of three areas:
- Cooks
- Foodies
- Travelers
All three have a particular effect on the greater food and beverage industry. From local restaurants to cookware and hospitality, brands are leveraging food creators to promote their products and services to their ideal target audience.
Cooking creators
Cooking creators include professional chefs and hobbyists alike. These creators might make videos of their process, snap images, or post full recipes for followers on social media or on their personal blog.
As influencers, they might partner with cookware, food (ingredients), or appliance brands to help followers make more informed purchases. These influencers might also promote their own products, including seasonings or published cookbooks.
Foodie creators
Foodie creators love to eat out and try different types of food. Many foodies overlap into the travel industry to experience cuisine from other cultures.
These influencers often review restaurants and grab flattering images of the food that they eat. When it comes to promoting brands, they typically shoutout a restaurant that exceeds their expectations and encourage fans to visit the location for themselves.
Travel influencers
Travel influencers are also perfect fits as foodie influencers, because local dining is one of the most common aspects of a great trip. Their impact extends across different types of hospitality brands, including:
- Restaurants
- Hotels
- Wineries
- Bars
- Amusement parks
- Festivals
- Cruises
Best performing content of foodie creators
Food social media is a highly visual category. As such, platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok are full of some of the finest foodie and cook creators online today.
Here are some top-performing types of food content:
ASMR videos
Many find the sounds of ASMR videos soothing and relaxing. ASMR content creators have attracted millions of fans on YouTube and TikTok with high-quality audio and visuals.
“What I Eat” or “Day in the Life”
Behind-the-scenes videos are popular on social media because they’re authentic and relatable. People are curious about the day-to-day lives of celebrities and influencers—including what they eat.
Viral food trend reviews
Before trying anything new, people go to the Internet for reviews. It’s the same for viral food trends. Many creators have built communities around reviewing the recipes, snacks, and food trending on social media.
Recipes
Creators use social media and personal blogs to post their favorite recipes. When sharing a recipe, readers love to hear compelling stories behind what inspired the recipe.
Most bloggers or recipe influencers also post images or videos to accompany their written content.
Key takeaway: Leverage food influencers to give your brand the boost it needs.
Food influencers exercise their unique skills to bring tasty meals to life. Not only does their content look delicious, but it also tells an endearing story that connects with their audience. Food, beverage, and hospitality brands that partner with food creators can forge more meaningful relationships with their audience.
Recruiting top-performing influencers has never been easier. Use GRIN to find your brand champions.
Learn more about influencer marketing: Influencer Marketing 101
