APRIL 2025                                                                By Anna Fatlowitz, Claudia Romero, and Olivia Bradish

This past month in influencer news, major brands and platforms continue to evolve their creator-driven strategies. At Expo West, high-protein snacks were front and center, catering to the growing demand for nutritious, on-the-go options. Rare Beauty’s influencer-first marketing approach continues to fuel its billion-dollar success, proving the importance of genuine audience engagement and community-driven marketing. Best Buy is following in the footsteps of Amazon and Walmart with a new digital storefront program for influencers, while at SXSW, brands like Crocs and Southwest discussed the shift away from traditional media. On the platform side, Instagram introduced a 2x speed feature for Reels and a repost option to boost content engagement, while Facebook now allows creators to earn revenue from public Stories. Additionally, Sprout Social reports that 59% of marketers plan to partner with more influencers in 2025. Read more below.

At Expo West, protein-packed snacks continue to dominate: The protein craze continues to dominate the CPG industry, as brands at Expo West showcase new high-protein snacks—ranging from pretzels to cookie bites—catering to growing consumer demand for nutritious, on-the-go options. Read more

Rare Beauty CMO on winning Gen Z through community-oriented marketing: Rare Beauty’s influencer-first strategy, community-driven marketing, and deep-rooted brand purpose have fueled its billion-dollar success, proving that genuine audience engagement and long-term loyalty matter more than traditional paid media. Read more

Best Buy plans to launch digital storefronts for influencers and content creators: Best Buy is launching a digital storefront program this spring, allowing influencers to curate and promote products directly on its website, following in the footsteps of Amazon and Walmart as it aims to drive engagement, traffic, and sales through creator partnerships. Read more

How cult brands like Crocs, Southwest see influencer marketing evolving: SXSW executives highlighted how influencer marketing is reshaping brand strategies, from campaign casting to innovative shoppable ad formats, signaling a shift toward social-first advertising as budgets move away from traditional media. Read more

Instagram Rolls Out 2x Speed Feature For Reels: Instagram has rolled out a new 2x speed playback feature for Reels, allowing users to fast-forward content by holding down either side of the screen—a move aimed at improving watch time for longer videos and keeping pace with TikTok’s functionality. Read more

NFL Searching For A VP Of Influencer & Creator Marketing To Expand Reach, Fanbase: The NFL’s search for a Global VP of Influencer and Creator Marketing highlights the growing importance of influencer strategy in reaching younger, global audiences and driving engagement across platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. Read more

Candid or branded? Advertisers are flocking to NYC street-style accounts: Street-style accounts like Watching New York and OOTD are gaining traction with both consumers and brands, as their candid, documentary-style content offers a relatable and organic way for brands like Aerie, Free People, and Lego to connect with audiences on TikTok and Instagram. Read more

Instagram Is Adding ‘Re-Posts’ To Amplify Content: Instagram has quietly rolled out a repost feature that allows users to share posts and Reels directly to their followers’ feeds—similar to retweeting—potentially boosting engagement and reshaping how content circulates on the app. Read more

Facebook now lets creators get paid for views on stories: Facebook is now allowing creators in its Content Monetization program to earn money from public Stories, adding a new revenue stream without requiring a minimum view threshold. Read more

Influencer marketing surges: Here’s what the numbers say: In 2025, 59% of marketers plan to partner with more influencers than in 2024, as shifts in the social media landscape drive brands to explore new platforms, according to a Sprout Social survey. Read more

• One Pot Recipes: Meghan Markle One Pot Pasta, One Pot Chicken with Creamy Ranch Sauce, Rice Cooker Salmon & Rice

• Copy Cat Recipes: In-n-Out Burger, Benihana Fried Rice

• Dubai Chocolate Mashups: Brown Butter Dubai Chocolate Chip Cookies, Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake

• Ramadan & Holi Recipes: Murtabak, Healthy Fruit Custard, Ekdum Chatpate Pani Ke Phulke, Tres Leche Cinnamon Rolls, Fluffy Pancakes

• High Protein Recipes: BBQ Chicken and Crispy Potatoes, Char Siu Chicken, High Protein Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Crust Pizza

• Dessert Mashups: Brownie Bottom Cheesecake, Tiramisu Pancakes, PCOS-Friendly Cookie Dough Bars, Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake Bars, Old Fashioned Buttermilk Donut Bars, Brookies, Croissant Loaf

• Quick & Easy Desserts: 1-Minute Chocolate Mug Cake, Microwaved Stuffed Nutella Cookie, Microwaved Chocolate Bar Cake, One Bowl Red Velvet Cake

Here are recent partnerships we’ve seen that we’re loving!

thesaltycooker x Wonderful Pistachios: We love the intro of her video and it doesn’t hurt that her cake looks amazing. Pistachios have recently been doing well on social so it’s great to see a brand take advantage of this in real-time.

heresyourbite x Sauz: This partnership feels very organic and authentic to the creator who always starts her videos the same way. We love that the brand was open to creativity here. It really shows with the engagement!

sweetlikeoyin x Tanqueray: We’re big White Lotus fans at Feedfeed, so this partnership felt so fun and on brand with both the show and Tanqueray as a brand. We love how the creator shot this, really emulating the creative ways in which White Lotus is actually shot as well.

Here are some of our favorite recent branded influencer campaigns The Feedfeed team has managed.

• Feedfeed x Tuttorosso Tomatoes - @erinscozykitchen

• Feedfeed x Red Gold Tomatoes - @notyouravg_mom

• Feedfeed x Red Gold Tomatoes - @kdamitz

• Feedfeed x Red Gold Tomatoes - @itsdayswithdae

Feedfeed is your daily source of inspiration for what to cook, bake, eat, and drink, reaching 55M food lovers each month. We are one of the world’s largest social media food & lifestyle publications fueled by a worldwide community of home cooks, foodies, and food industry pros, that tag their social media posts with #feedfeed. Each month, 50K+ posts per month are shared on our hashtag, serving as a real-time peak into culinary trends around the world. Our Team uses the hashtag to discover new food trends, emerging content creators, influencers, and the best content to feature on our channels. #feedfeed has helped us build lasting relationships and connect all the participants of the food world in a meaningful way.

Influencer Marketing Campaigns and Collaborations: Feedfeed creates start-to-finish custom influencer campaigns that align our brand partners with trusted influencers (nano influencers, micro influencers and macro influencers) that create trending content served up to highly engaged target audiences. Feedfeed makes it easy to work with influencers by handling influencer sourcing/vetting, conceptualizing, contracting, creative direction, and reporting for branded content campaigns, Influencer trips, events, seeding, and shopper marketing campaigns, as part of a strategic, comprehensive and cost effective influencer marketing strategy.  Task us with developing influencer collaborations that align with your strategic goals, big or small.

Original Content & Distribution: Feedfeed’s original content studio has been a pioneer and leader in social native organic and branded sponsored content for 10 years, continuing to spearhead new content trends, and formats on emerging existing and emerging social media platforms. We leverage in-house content creators and one of the largest networks of food & lifestyle creators, as well as a wide distribution network across all relevant social and digital marketing channels.

Experiential: Feedfeed conceptualizes and executes engaging IRL (in person) and virtual experiences (zoom and metaverse), including dinner parties, cocktail hours, workshops, panel talks and conference activations.

WANT TO WORK WITH US?

Reach out
partnerships@thefeedfeed.com