When it comes to food, visual appeal is everything. If you’re a restaurant struggling in these challenging times, we’ve got a real game-changer for you. Food photography can single-handedly improve your sales number and better yet- your customer experiences as well.

Most customers engage in a visual culture and rely on their eyes to decide what the rest of their senses will enjoy. If you order something off the menu just because of how great it looks, you are not alone. That’s most of the world.  So how do you use food photography to improve your restaurant’s sales?

As more restaurants open up, the competition becomes more cut-throat. If you want to grow your customer base, written descriptions of food won’t cut it. Stunning photos of food on menus or websites or even food delivery apps can be the one aspect that can make or break your restaurant.

Importance of food photography for restaurants

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1. Improves sales

Good quality and attractive pictures of food can grab attention and make customers buy food they didn’t intend to buy initially. Highlighting the more profitable dishes on the menu is a great way to sell more and bring home the money.

Photographs on online food delivery platforms work even better and improve conversion rates as customers know exactly what to expect from their order. 

A study by Deliveroo has proven that restaurants that have pictures on their menus boost sales by 24%. Relying on text description only goes so far, but trusting visuals can really seal the deal for restaurants.

2. Creates brand identity

Food photography gives restaurants a great opportunity to convey their brand image. A consistent range of photographs with the right colours, angles and composition can make your brand stand out. Your food photography should weave a story about the restaurant. So if you’re a high-end, classy restaurant, your food should portray the same sentiment and not put out a funky, vibrant tone.

3. Builds credibility

We’ve always heard the phrase ‘what you see is what you get’ but using food photography, restaurants can do exactly that. Show your customers exactly what they should expect, and ensure the real dish doesn’t deviate from this. This is the fastest route to building trust and credibility amongst your customer base. It’s safe to say- never overpromise and underdeliver, as that could drastically affect the restaurant’s reputation.

4. Aids marketing efforts

The great thing about a professional food photography shoot is that the restaurant receives great quality, appealing images of its food that goes further than just ending up on a menu.

While the most immediate use for these images may be to add them to your menu, you can also post them on your website and social media handles to increase your visibility to your online audience as well.

If they like what they see, they might just pop by the restaurant for a quick bite.

5. Boosts SEO ranking

Where’s the one place every restaurant dreams of being? Plastered across the front page of a Google search- Ah, isn’t that the dream? If you’re a restaurant that engages in content creation and article generation, food photos can boost your SEO rankings to increase your visibility to your target audience. Using relevant keywords for your images will give you an extra nudge to the top.

Since a majority of the world eats with their eyes, food photography has become imperative to the success of any modern-day restaurant especially when it comes to food delivery. If you’ve poured your heart into creating a delicious menu, allow LemonOne to help showcase this passion with professional photography services. Contact us now to find out more.