Cast your Movie
If your brand were a character in a movie, who would you cast?
Let me explain: When I look for out-of-the-cereal-box thinking about food, I turn to Kevin Ryan. His weekly FoodStuff Substack can be relied upon to view the sector through a unique lens, as befits a food scientist/culinary anthropologist.
Kevin recently drew a throughline from the 50th anniversary of the release of Jaws and food marketing in 2025.
Drawing on the Power of Three, he points out that the triad of protagonists of Jaws are written so as to appeal to distinct audience segments: Quint, the shark hunter for brawny athletes and those who imagine themselves to be; Brody, the sheriff and family man in touch with his inner empath; and Hooper, the marine biologist who’s all brain.
There’s somebody for every audience member to cheer for. (I’ve always been on Team Brody, personally.)
The three archetypes are a framework for many stories, from the Little Pigs (straw, sticks and finally bricks), to Moana (Maui, Moana, Gramma Tala), to The Wizard of Oz (which I hope needs no explication).
And this has to do with food … how?
The way audiences are drawn to characters in a story is the same way they’re drawn to certain brands, and by and large, successful brands will find an audience and reach out with an appropriate message. So, seniors and all-around health-conscious consumers for the brainy, analytical message; ethnic consumers and family shoppers for a more soulful emphasis on familiar and comfort foods; athletes and workout fans for a brawny, maxxed-out protein pitch.
How this may look in the grocery aisle:
Meat snacks: Brainy (artisanal, grass-fed, zero-sugar brands like Chomps and Archer); soulful (also artisanal brands, especially those, like Archer, that also provide portion-controlled or kid-sized options); brawny (Jack Links).
Whole cuts: Brainy (Pre, Verde Farms, Niman Ranch for lean, grass-fed offerings); soulful (flank steak, pork butt, chicken thigh quarters, Bubba Burgers, Ball Park); brawny (whole cuts known for leanness, such as chicken breasts, pork tenderloin, good ol’ sirloin).
Frozen: Brainy (alt-meats, Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones); soulful (Tyson, Perdue, Jennie-O, Trader Joe’s); brawny (Jimmy Dean, Hungry Man, Stouffer’s).
And so on.
The categorization is imperfect. Parents certainly opt for Jimmy Dean’s breakfast options for getting the kids off to school in a hurry. Resealable packaging on chicken nuggets appeal to seniors who want to stretch that purchase across several eating occasions. But in general, a brand that tries to appeal to *everybody* or a food category that is over-indexed on one or two archetypes will likely run aground.
Let’s take the data-heavy marketing message of most alt-meats. They “attracted early adopters and drove trial, but left big gaps. Brawn (the indulgence, craveability, and primal satisfaction of eating meat) often came in muted or as an afterthought. Soul (cultural resonance, emotional warmth, memory-laden rituals) was almost absent. Even heartfelt sustainability or animal ethnics, which could have been framed as emotional rallying cries, were usually handled analytically. Without those other archetypes in play, the category has struggled to hold onto mainstream consumers,” Kevin wrote.
This take on messaging and audiences resonated with me, big-time — does it resonate with you? And, who would you pick to be the star who represents your message best?
