What was the challenge?

While AI can generate just about any image you can think of, it often falls short regarding food pictures. You might end up with bizarre-looking tomatoes, oversized portions, or food merged together creating another ‘made up’ type of food.

Turns out, even AI could use a little help in the kitchen!

 

What action did they take?

Drawing on over 150 years of tomato expertise, Heinz has tackled the challenge of AI-generated food images with the launch of its first recipe book for Artificial Intelligence.

Created in collaboration with Heinz chefs, an AI designer, and a prompts expert, the AI CookBook features over 30 recipes, complete with specific prompts for AI to follow.

Each recipe is elevated by a key ingredient that can enhance any dish—Heinz tomatoes.

Building on the success of their Heinz Tomato Open Sauce campaign, Heinz adopted an open-source approach to inspire fans to explore their culinary creativity.

The free online cookbook lets Heinz lovers create perfect tomato-based recipes both digitally and in real life.

 

What were the results?

  • 5000+ Images generated using cookbook’s prompts.
  • 6.5% paid social CTR vs 2-3% benchmark.
  • +4.2pp Improved Heinz Masterbrand

 

What marketing lessons can we learn?

  1. Leveraging AI for Creativity: AI can be a powerful tool in developing creative marketing content that captures consumer interest….but understanding how to prompt is a critical skill.
  2. Engaging Consumers with Novelty: Innovative campaigns that introduce new concepts can drive engagement and elevate brand perception.
  3. Highlighting Product Versatility: Using creative approaches to demonstrate product applications can encourage consumers to explore and purchase more.

 

 

Conclusion

Heinz’s AI-generated cookbook campaign illustrates the potential of AI in crafting unique and engaging marketing strategies. By combining technology with creativity, Heinz was able to connect with consumers in a new way, reinforcing its brand identity and encouraging product usage. This initiative highlights the growing role of AI in developing innovative marketing content that resonates with audiences.