This column is part of our Last Word series, which invites noted professionals to provide closing thoughts at the end of each issue of Commercial Baking. See the full issue here.
KANSAS CITY, MO — Humans are about to have a moment.
For the last decade, we have been quietly drifting apart. Technology promised connection and delivered convenience. Social media gave us reach and sorted us into silos based on scroll speed and clicks. And now, AI is accelerating dysfunction and automating the friction out of our daily lives, including the productive kind that used to pull us into contact with other people.
AI is changing not just how we interact, but why we interact. In a world where algorithms know our preferences, chatbots mirror our emotions and virtual assistants anticipate our needs, there is a growing premium on human attention, showing up and being present, and feeling connected to something larger.
For food brands, this is an opportunity hiding in plain sight.
Food is the original communal object. Since the start of humanity, it has been shared, passed and placed at the center of the gathering. Food is present in moments of celebration, grief and everything in between. No other object carries that kind of cultural weight so consistently.
As we think about marketing in the autonomous age, the industry has an opportunity to lean into our humanity and create conditions for community. There is measurable value in the impressions and placements, but it’s the shared identity that produces belonging and loyalty. Looking outside the food industry, Harley-Davidson, REI and Mini Cooper have done two things exceptionally well: They know exactly who they are, and they serve the people who love them without apology or dilution.
Our industry has the same opportunity and, arguably, more inherent potential. The product gives consumers a reason to show up. The human connection, the ritual, the memory, the moment of warmth … that gives them a reason to stay.
The question for every brand leader in this industry is the same: What is your brand’s reason to show up? What is your consumer’s reason to engage? And how do you bring those together in the real world in a way that creates a lasting connection?
The brands that answer these questions clearly will be the ones that hang in for the long term.
Speaking literally, the table is not a metaphor, but rather the strategy.
