Why Is Fashion Using Food to Sell Us Products?

Lately, food has become a major part of fashion, beauty, and lifestyle marketing. From overflowing tables of grapes to £16 wellness smoothies, food is now a status symbol—and it’s being used to sell everything from lip balm to designer jackets.

But why?

Let’s break it down.

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Food as a New Symbol of Luxury

Fashion has long been a marker of wealth, but with the rise of dupes and fast fashion, it's becoming less exclusive. Brands are now looking for new ways to signal luxury—and food, oddly enough, is filling that gap.

High-end campaigns are now using fresh produce, pastries, and grocery bags as props. Think of Hailey Bieber in a Fila ad: balancing a croissant, holding a paper bag full of fruits. It’s not just aesthetic—it’s symbolic. Food, especially when it looks expensive or goes to waste in a shoot, sends a message: “I can afford this.”

This links back to art history, where abundance in food—especially fresh or rare items—was used in paintings to represent wealth and power.

Food and Emotion: The Power of Sensory Marketing

Food is deeply emotional. It triggers feelings of comfort, indulgence, nostalgia, and wellness. This makes it the perfect tool for sensory marketing, where brands tap into our senses to sell a lifestyle, not just a product.

Instead of showing you a plain lip balm, they’ll compare it to caramel or peach. A skincare product becomes "juicy" or "fresh." These associations make products feel more real and desirable—especially when we’re shopping through screens.

The Prada Café Effect

Luxury brands are also opening designer cafés and bakeries—Prada, Dior, Louis Vuitton—all offering overpriced (but beautifully presented) cakes and coffee. These spots let people buy into a high-end world without buying the £1,600 handbag.

It’s about social signalling. A £12 latte in a branded café offers a taste of luxury that's more affordable and shareable—especially on Instagram.

Why Everyday Food Works Better Than Caviar

Interestingly, brands aren’t showing champagne and caviar. They’re showing tomatoes, croissants, and berries, everyday items that still feel luxurious due to their rising cost and strong visual appeal.

This contrast between high fashion and relatable food, creates a powerful emotional pull. It makes the brand feel both aspirational and down-to-earth.

Influencers Are Jumping on the Trend Too

Influencers are expanding their content to include food, whether it's setting up elaborate tablescapes or launching branded smoothies (like Hailey Bieber’s £16 strawberry skin drink, which reportedly sells around 40,000 servings a month). These products blend lifestyle, wellness, and beauty into one—and followers are eating it up, literally.

So, What’s Really Going On?

Fashion isn’t trying to sell us food—but it is using food to sell us an emotion, an identity, and a lifestyle.

Food is being used as a visual and emotional shortcut to make products feel more desirable, luxurious, and crave-worthy. In a tough economy, indulgent foods become symbols of comfort and wealth. And marketing teams know exactly how to tap into that.