Food Advertisers Should Target Consumers Online, Says Report

NEW YORK -- Half of all Internet users are looking for food and cooking information online, creating an opportunity for food advertisers, according to a new report from Jupiter Research here. In the report, “Targeting Online Food Lovers -- Identifying Segments and Online Advertising Opportunities,” Jupiter Research proposes that food advertisers should fully leverage the online channel and explore emerging opportunities around video and mobile content. “Online food lovers use food destination sites and manufacturer sites the most, rather than branded product sites and health- and lifestyle-related websites,” said Monique Levy, senior analyst at Jupiter Research, in a statement. “This suggests that sites like epicurious.com and foodnetwork.com provide important advertising opportunities and that manufacturers‘ websites like kraftfoods.com are smart to invest in their main website.” Advertisers in niche categories including organic foods and gourmet foods, should pay particular attention to the online advertising opportunity, the report said.