Kenneth Glad
Online recommendations increasingly influence where people choose to eat. The commercial relationships supporting that content are also attracting closer scrutiny.
A widely watched food video can quickly send customers to a restaurant. According to The Guardian, Darjeeling Express, the Indian restaurant in London’s Soho run by chef Asma Khan, was busy for four months after appearing in a Topjaw video.
Man Hon Luk, who runs Hon’s BBQ, told the paper that about 200 people visited one of his barbecue pop-ups in Hackney after Eating With Tod featured it.
That reach explains why many restaurants include creators in publicity campaigns. Complimentary meals, launch invitations and filming access can provide substantial exposure, particularly as short-form video has made personality-led food content increasingly prominent.
Money behind videos
Large followings do not guarantee stable incomes. The Guardian found that numerous creators retain other jobs, while some earn through labelled advertising, tourism campaigns and brand partnerships.
The publication separately reported allegations involving paid posts that were not identified as advertisements.
Senior employees at a well-regarded London restaurant group told The Guardian that they approached Eating With Tod creator Toby Inskip about covering one of their venues.
Inskip raised the question of payment and the parties eventually agreed on a fee of roughly €7,000 for more than one post. The restaurant group also expected to see the material before publication and to request changes if necessary.
The posts were ultimately published without being labelled as advertisements. Inskip did not respond to The Guardian’s questions about whether he accepts payment for restaurant coverage without identifying the content as advertising.
UK advertising rules do not treat every free meal as an advert. The key question is whether there was a commercial deal and whether the restaurant had any say over the resulting content.
That can include agreeing when a post appears, what it should contain or how the venue is presented. When payment is involved and the business has influence over the post, the content may need to be clearly marked as advertising.
Businesses push back
The tension is not confined to Britain. TV 2 Denmark reported that Isoteket, an ice cream business in Copenhagen, receives weekly approaches from influencers seeking free products or payment in exchange for social media exposure.
Some make contact by phone or message, while others reportedly turn up at the company’s shops in person. Owner Jeppe Villadsen has repeatedly declined.
Villadsen told the broadcaster that he prefers customers to choose Isoteket because of the quality of its products rather than paid promotion. He also criticised influencer campaigns that are not presented clearly enough as commercial arrangements.
Danish cafe and bakery chain Granny’s House has taken a similar position. Owner Rasmus Søndergaard Hansen told TV 2 that influencers sometimes praise products after trying them, only to follow up shortly afterwards with proposals for paid collaborations. He said that kind of endorsement can lack credibility because the resulting coverage is rarely nuanced.
Horesta, representing Denmark’s hotel, restaurant and tourism industries, told TV 2 that requests for free products and services do occur, including approaches to hotels for complimentary weekend stays.
The organisation does not regard the practice as a major industry problem, but says it is a visible trend, particularly in larger cities and among smaller creators approaching businesses directly.
The relationship between food businesses and influencers is becoming more cautious, with trust now carrying as much weight as reach.
Source: The Guardian, TV 2 Denmark
