COLUMBUS, OHIO—Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN) and Belle Communication are partnering to launch Influencer Insider, an editorial column designed to help foodservice brands decode fast-moving consumer trends and influencer marketing best practices. NRN will leverage Belle Communication’s insights product, Brilli, to provide its readers with data and actionable ideas sourced directly from niche and popular foodie creators and their engaged audiences.
Consumers today rely on influencer recommendations to discover new restaurants on social media and base their dining and purchasing decisions on influencer reviews. Yet, for many foodservice operators and suppliers, knowing how to best collaborate with influencers to attract loyal customers and jump on viral food trends remains elusive. There’s a growing need for foodservice brands to innovate and validate new concepts at the speed of social.
NRN’s new column will illuminate this phenomenon using Belle Communication’s Brilli. This first-of-its-kind market research tool harnesses influencer expertise and follower connection to gain rapid insight from social media audiences. The column will offer B2C and B2B foodservice brands valuable data, from identifying emerging flavor trends and opinions on value vs. novelty to developing effective strategies for working with influencers to engage target demographics.
“Content creators are increasingly catalysts to food trends that influence how the world eats,” explains Sam Oches, Editorial Director at NRN. “Restaurant leaders must be engaged with these creators to understand how guest behaviors and demands are changing. We’re excited to partner with Belle Communication on its Brilli tool so that we can have our finger on the pulse of that change and share those insights with our audience.”
Kate Finley, founder of Belle Communication, adds that “Influencers have a unique connection with their followers—they’re an untapped resource for understanding emerging trends and consumer preferences. We’re looking forward to employing our Brilli product to give NRN readers a way to learn directly from foodie creators for both B2C and B2B applications.”
About Brilli™
Brilli is a market research tool developed by Belle Communication that enables foodservice brands to tap into influencers and their followers to gather preference data from hard-to-reach, niche audience groups. By polling influencers and their engaged communities, Brilli offers feedback to fuel product development, marketing strategies and sales enablement programs. With applications ranging from concept validation to crowdsourcing preferences of target segments, Brilli empowers businesses to stay ahead of what’s next and avoid costly missteps, all while gaining a competitive edge.
To learn more about Brilli, visit https://askbrilli.com/.
About Nation’s Restaurant News
Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN) is the No. 1 source of business information for the foodservice industry. For more than 50 years, NRN has served the information and engagement needs of foodservice professionals, offering award-winning content across all mediums with the goal of driving businesses forward. NRN was named Best Media Brand by the Jesse H. Neal Awards in 2019. NRN is part of Informa Connect Foodservice, the single largest global community of foodservice and retail professionals. Informa Connect Foodservice brings together market-leading brands, exceptional talent, and deep customer relationships across the growing B2B foodservice market providing top-tier editorial content, digital and print publications and products, data assets, and events that our customers know and trust.
To learn more about NRN, visit www.nrn.com.
About Belle Communication
Belle Communication is a woman-owned PR agency with over a decade of experience specializing in foodservice. By bringing consumer-first thinking to B2B communications, the agency has helped over 100 brands transform their market presence, forge meaningful audience connections and drive sales growth.
With expertise in public relations, influencer relations, creative strategy and consumer insights, the agency partners with suppliers and operators, supporting B2B leaders like T. Marzetti, Rubix Foods and Lamb Weston, as well as CPG brands and restaurants like Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, The Halal Guys, Nestlé and Sbarro.
Belle has earned repeated recognition as a top boutique agency, with accolades including PRWeek Boutique Agency of the Year, PRNEWS Agency Elite and PRWeek Best Place to Work. Its client work has also been celebrated by prestigious programs like Bulldog PR and SABRE Innovation Awards.
To learn more about Belle, visit https://bellecommunication.com/.