If you’ve grown up in the digital age and love to eat, you likely have favorite food influencers that you devotedly follow on your channels. Whether they’re strictly food or perhaps a fashion, travel, or home influencer, it’s like you know them personally.

We know the feeling, especially when it comes to the foodie influencers. Photography of sweet and savory dishes, creative recipes up for immediate grabs – our feed is chock-full of mouthwatering content. Below we share five of our favorite food influencers with an extra scoop of details on why we love them.

1. Lindsay Ostrom, @PinchOfYum

How bout when I made that ✨LIFE CHANGING 30 MIN MASALA SAUCE✨ and put it on everything ever including … meatless meatballs? Here’s how it goes: onions, garlic, ginger, spices, lemon juice, cilantro, and some almonds in a food processor to make a paste. Small amount of paste + tomato purée + coconut milk simmered together for a while. Result: Lush masala sauce ready for you to put on anything you like // masala paste for your freezer for later // life changed 4ever. Heavily inspired by the beautiful work of @nourish_atelier http://pinchofyum.com/life-changing-30-minute-masala-sauce #beautifulcuisines #masala #curry #tikkamasala #indianfood #recipe #homemade #feedfeed #f52grams #spicy #buzzfeast #thatsdarling #bhgfood #todayfood #lifeandthyme #vegan #vegetarian #plantbased #plantstrong

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Lindsay Ostrom’s Pinch of Yum stole our hearts (and stomachs) at first recipe. You can almost smell the food on her Instagram, and you never have to suffer from insatiable cravings because she features the recipe either in the caption or a how-to video. This elementary school teacher-turned-foodie whips up anything from vegetarian dinners to mouth-watering chocolate chip cookies.

WHAT TO MAKE: 30-Minute Vegetarian Meatballs

2. Molly Yeh, @MollyYeh

Molly Yeh’s My Name Is Yeh has any and every recipe your heart desires. From cakes to casseroles, Molly makes and tastes each delicious dish on her blog. And if you can’t tell from her Instagram, she definitely has a sweet tooth and a knack for baked goods. Inspired by her Jewish and Asian roots and midwestern farm-life surroundings, Molly’s recipes are always seasonal, unique, and absolutely second-helpings worthy.

WHAT TO MAKE: Hawaij Apple Pie with Cardamom Whipped Cream

3. Matthew Flores, @BitesonBytes

Next on the Menu: Matthew Flores’ Bites on Bytes. He’s a chef, food blogger, and food stylist covering cooking tips, kitchen equipment, recipes, and most of the food-related concepts you’d usually ask your mom. For Matthew, it all started with tasting a tomato from his grandparent’s garden. Now, his food photography skills combined with his cooking skills makes him a must-follow food influencer.

WHAT TO MAKE: Stonewall Kitchen’s Springtime Lemon Dijon Chicken and Asparagus Salad

4. Adrianna Adarme, @ACozyKitchen

In addition to being an influencer, she is an author, photographer, corgi mom, and most importantly, a food fanatic. Adrianna Adarme’s A Cozy Kitchen transports us to, well, total coziness. Her Instagram looks sweeter than honey and serves as food inspiration for all your comfortable, hygge night-in plans. Her must-have cookbook is filled with recipes from her blog  – seasonal delights, savory appetizers, pastries, dinners, dog treats, and so much more.

WHAT TO MAKE: Ombre Chocolate Cake with Mexican Chocolate Frosting 

5. Justine Dungo, @PrettyinPistachio

Lastly, we have Justine. This creative food influencer’s blog, Pretty in Pistachio goes beyond the kitchen and peeks into life and style as well. This self-made curious chef never studied culinary, but followed her intuition (and tastebuds) to a blog filled of delicious foods, places to eat, drinks to make, and life and style tips.

WHAT TO MAKE: Soft Baked Pretzels with Parmesean Cheese

All five influencers employ similar tactics that have made them successful influencers: how-to videos, captions full of recipes, and clean colorful photography. The blogs follow classic, chic layouts designed to make the natural colors of the dishes pop, and many have their own cookbooks. These food influencers make it easy to follow their recipes. And if you’re a picky eater or have a dietary restriction, don’t worry – they have it covered. Bon appetite!

We love nothing more than exploring some of the country’s most beautiful destinations, and we have to say: Charleston, SC really takes the cake as a must-visit destination experience in the South. This September, we gladly packed our bags and boarded our flights alongside a group of food and travel editors for the second annual CBC Charleston Experience – a destination experience part of our larger PR experiential HOUSE programs.

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This city is the epitome of southern charm; equipped with incredible eats, stunning waterfront views, and old-timey activities that will give you all of the nostalgic feels. With an intimate group of eight editors and journalists, we embarked on a journey that proved why Charleston is a favorite American destination experience.

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Trading bustling city life for luxurious countryside, our home for the weekend was the Belmond Charleston Place. Located in the heart of the city, the hotel was close to main attractions while still holding on to a bit of countryside serenity. And we got the royal treatment during our stay – pastries and tea time, rooms on the club level, and a spa day!

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DAY 1

We ventured over to Minero for the the best margaritas in the city, followed by dinner at the historic McCrady’s Tavern. Both restaurants’ mouthwatering menus were created by the Chef Sean Brock, a James Beard award winner.

Fun fact: George Washington dined here after he was elected the first President of the United States. And rumor had it he was quite the lady’s man, as he used to have women waiting for him lined up down the brick alley.  

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DAY 2

We wandered the cobblestone streets and crooked shops found ourselves at Bay Street Biergarten, a favorite spot for beer lovers complete with a whole self-serve beer wall.

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Next stop was Boone Hall Plantation, one of the oldest working farms in the country and the setting to one our favorite movies…

Hint: If you’re a bird, then I’m a bird.

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Following the tour we enjoyed a magical dinner under the oak trees, complete with a live bluegrass band.

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DAY 3

We set sail with Vineyard Vines on a boat cruise to Caper’s Island. On the way, we were greeted by dolphins and were able to hold a collection of blue and stone crabs.

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DAY 4

On the last morning in Charleston, we attended a yoga class at Reverb studio followed by a classic southern brunch at Hominy Grill, complete with fried chicken and biscuits.

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We are counting down the days until next year’s Charleston Experience. Until then, we are dreaming of magical dinners under twinkle light oak trees and southern sunsets. To check out more of the experience, explore our Instagram or #CBCCharlestonExperience.

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One of our favorite times during the week happens on Thursday at 4pm, when CBC employees shut their laptops for the day and come together as a team to uncork a bottle of wine (or two). This week, the hot topic around the table was CBC’s new initiative called SIDEBAR Studios, our mobile content studio that travels alongside our HOUSE Programs to some of the most beautiful places across the country.

We poured a glass with CEO Len Cercone, who gave us the inside scoop on all things content production.

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What is SIDEBAR Studios?

Len: Our “mobile” content studio is a way for brands to create editorial content from probably some of the best destinations in the United States, in a way that costs them a fraction of the price if they tried to do it on their own. The idea came as a natural outgrowth of CBC’s signature HOUSE Programs but in a way that can reach thousands and thousands of people. Brands sign up and we already have all the necessities to shoot incredible content for them: influencers, photographers, location connections, everything.

How has the landscape of advertising changed?

Len: We were hearing from brands that many have a hard time creating quality editorial content. There’s been a shift from traditional advertising to focus more on digital, and that’s where we come in! From the beginning, CBC has specialized in editorializing advertising and applying it to existing assets. It’s the future and it’s perfectly suited to how we think.

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What is SIDEBAR Studios’ greatest strength?

Len: SIDEBAR Studios is rooted in the same concept as CBC’s signature HOUSE Programs and accomplishes two major tasks: guaranteeing coverage and expanding the transformational experience of HOUSE attendees beyond the real-time event to a digital experience. SIDEBAR is just an extention of that providing content to share on a consumer facing level, rather than the media.

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What most excites you about SIDEBAR?

Len: SIDEBAR Studios takes experiential marketing and storytelling one step further – we help brands create aspirational, lifestyle content from experiences. By combining the SIDEBAR Studios with our HOUSE programs, brands can expand their reach through influencers and exceptional digital content while directly interacting with their consumers.

There you have it, folks. The brands spoke, we listened and created a way to produce content that is accessable and cost-effective. If you’d like to hear more about SIDEBAR Studios and our content production solution, contact us! We’d love to hear from you.

Or follow along on our Instagram channel (@cerconebrown), where we periodically broadcast live from our HOUSE Programs and SIDEBAR shoots.

Until next time.. or our next bottle of wine. Cheers!

As consumers continue to favor the convenience of online shopping, brands are turning to experiential retail as a way to repurpose their store’s space.

And we’re happy to report that brands have really taken the concept of experiential retail and run with it. Particularly, beloved department store Nordstrom.

On October 4, Nordstrom opened its first concept store in West Hollywood, California called “Nordstrom Local”. The store will employ retail experiential tactics tailored to the customer including individual consultations, styling sessions, and alterations – even a fully-stocked bar and beauty salon. Even more interesting, instead of merchandise, the store will sell to consumers via personal stylists who will order inventory for clients based on his/her personal taste.
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This streamlined experiential retail strategy is a response to the growing demand for convenience. 50 years ago, department stores were valued for offering a one-stop shop; however, the times have changed, and today’s consumers seek more efficient alternatives to digging through a 140,000 sq ft department store.

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Other retailers have experimented with experiential retail tricks too. Target recently opened small format stores that cater specifically to their respective locations and demographics (i.e. college campuses and urban communities). Instead of stocking all of the customary Target product, these small format stores stock specific items such as extra dorm room accessories and school supplies.

CBC has been an advocate of experiential retail for a while now. In August 2016, we launched apparel brand Garnet Hill’s mobile boutique, an 880 sq ft converted shipping container that showcased Garnet Hill products and hosted lifestyle events.

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Another CBC client, Stonewall Kitchen, prides itself on experiential retail as a way to ensure that its York, Maine flagship location is more than just a shop. In the Stonewall Kitchen Company Store you are able to taste any of the brand’s jams before buying, and it even has a one-of-a-kind cooking school onsite intended to inspire customers with confidence in the kitchen.

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The road has not been easy for brands. Today’s consumers expect the best of both world: a fusion of the convenience of online and the tangible experience of in-store. For apparel bands, experiential retail goes a long way.