AI Is Changing How We Sell Food

Tim Elliott (0:00)

This is the Morning Drive, it's Mira Business FM. AI is rapidly changing pretty much everything we do. But specifically, I want to talk this morning about changing food marketing, giving restaurants and brands new ways to create images and menus and promotional campaigns. But AI allows people to do it without the traditional production costs. So what does that mean for the creative industry behind food advertising? And as AI generated food, if you like, becomes harder to distinguish from the real thing, businesses are facing a new question. How far can they go without losing consumer and customer trust? So Lucy Bradley is back. She is the founder of Plug. She's a marketing guru.

That's how we're putting you forward these days. I thought you'd like that. Let's look at how AI is reshaping food marketing this morning.

The last couple of times you've been here, we've been talking about the Save Our Soap campaign that you initiated for the Camel Soap Factory.

Just quickly, post-conflict, the target was to sell 25,000 bars to keep the business operating at that certain level. It was brave at the time. It's been super successful. I know that. Where is the campaign now, first of all?

Lucy Bradley (1:19)

Oh, I smashed it without... 27,000, 28,000. 27,358.

Tim Elliott (1:25)

And that was a post a little while ago, so hopefully it's even, right.

Lucy Bradley (1:28)

Yeah, so thanks to our friends in Qatar, duty-free, it's gone beyond 31,000 bars the soap sold.

Tim Elliott (1:36)

Oh, really?

Lucy Bradley (1:37)

Yeah, so the duty-free is weighed in on this as well. And the good thing is we didn't use any social media or AI...

Tim Elliott (1:46)

None at all.

Lucy Bradley (1:47)

for this campaign. None at all.

Tim Elliott (1:49)

Good for you. Do you know, the chocolate soap, by the way, you mentioned last time you were here...

Lucy Bradley (1:54)

The one that was all over me.

Tim Elliott (1:55)

I know, I gathered that. But since then, you sent some more soap in, or Stevie did from the Camel Soap Factory, and I gave a bar of chocolate soap to the boss. And do you know what?

This is true. He seems a little bit happier these days.

Lucy Bradley (2:09)

Really?

Tim Elliott (2:10)

Yeah, yeah, between you and me.

Lucy Bradley (2:11)

Because he's been washing with the Camel Soap. The chocolate one.

Tim Elliott (2:14)

Yeah, just so that you know.

Lucy Bradley (2:16)

Okay, great. So it's great for mind, body, and...

Tim Elliott (2:19)

Mind, body, and soul, and well-being, and all that stuff.

Lucy Bradley (2:23)

Yes, well-being in the workplace.

Tim Elliott (2:25)

Yeah, I'm just glad to be able to report that to you.

Lucy Bradley (2:28)

Great, I'll pass it on.

Tim Elliott (2:30)

So we brought you back this morning on a more serious note.

Lucy Bradley (2:33)

To talk about something I really don't find particularly interesting, but thank you.

Tim Elliott (2:38)

You're welcome. So what do you want to talk about? Oh, do you know what? The other thing I wanted to mention, I had no concentration this morning. When you walked in, you showed me some videos on your phone. And you know what it's like when people are like, oh, look at this, look at my video of me playing football on the phone or whatever. It's not interesting. But you're a ballet dancer. I had no idea.

Lucy Bradley (2:56)

Yeah.

Tim Elliott (2:57)

But a recent ballet dancer.

Lucy Bradley (2:59)

Yes.

Tim Elliott (3:01)

Why first of all?

Lucy Bradley (3:02)

Why? Well, I started at 47

Tim Elliott (3:05)

Yeah.

Lucy Bradley (3:06)

Always loved the idea of ballet.

Loved it, loved the aesthetic, loved the thought I could be on point and be weightless and be able to do that. And dabbled in it maybe 10 years ago, had a few classes. I remember buying some pointe shoes just to hang up in my bedroom. And...

Tim Elliott (3:29)

This is an ornament.

Lucy Bradley (3:30)

Yeah. And it's not easy to buy pointe shoes. They're very strict about it, and rightly so.

And then I just thought after my second divorce, I thought, you know what, I'm going to go for it and start classes. Time to express myself. Yeah. Find my whatever. And yeah, I became a dancer. So I started going three or four times a week. And I mean, yeah, I do a show every year. So I perform. I've just done my exams for the Royal Academy of Dance.

Tim Elliott (4:00)

Wow.

Lucy Bradley (4:01)

So it's more than a hobby.

It's, I suppose it's a big part. Is it a vocation? Is that the word?