The foodie cooking up a digital storm. Meet Andrew.
Andrew Johnson‘s first love was the kitchen, but even before COVID hit, he recognized that chefs and business owners were missing a trick when it came to digital marketing. With the Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing and MySuccess Website Designer Course, Andrew armed himself with the practical skills to revamp his career prospects within an industry he knew and loved. This is his story.
As a child, I always wanted to be a chef, so I got stuck into kitchen work as soon as I could! I really fell in love with the food and beverage (F&B) industry for its ethos of creativity and passion. Unfortunately, being super tall made it a struggle for me to work in tight kitchen spaces, so I started to explore other options. My second love was content creation and marketing, especially food marketing. From my experience in the F&B industry, I knew that good marketing was fundamental for increasing sales in restaurants. Furthermore, understanding the growing digital space (social media, websites, SEO marketing, etc.) would be key to any business venture and any skills I gained in the digital space would be transferable!
I chose to enroll in the Professional Diploma in Digital Marketing to gain the practical skills required to be a marketer and to gain a broader perspective of business marketing. I really enjoyed the course and it definitely strengthened my job prospects beyond the kitchen! After the course, I ended up working as a digital marketing consultant at Deloitte Malta.
The MySuccess Website Designer Course seemed like the next obvious step after my first course in Digital Marketing. It suited my creative streak, helped fill the technical gaps in my skill set, and supported my growing interest in digital marketing. Ultimately, taking the time to develop these skills opened new opportunities for me outside of catering and would eventually give me the confidence to start and run my own projects.
When I was working as a digital marketing consultant at Deloitte, I noticed a gap in the Maltese market. People did not have a go-to source for ‘all things food’ in Malta, so I combined my skills for digital marketing and content creation with my original love (food) to create FoodBlog Malta! The goal with FoodBlog was to celebrate everything the Maltese Islands have to offer when it comes to food, especially because social and digital media are so influential here. I love eating out and exploring new places, so I wanted to showcase the diversity of the Maltese F&B industry with like-minded foodies. I quickly saw the mutual benefit that the FoodBlog page had on both social media users and restauranters, with users being more informed about local establishments and the establishments themselves gaining traction on social media and benefitting from increased sales.
After FoodBlog started gaining traction, restaurateurs started reaching out to me to ask for help with running their social media, as they had seen how quickly the FoodBlog page had grown in a short amount of time. I then noticed another gap in the Maltese market – targeted digital and media advertising for the F&B industry. I realized that restaurateurs were reaching out to me because in addition to having the required digital and social media marketing skills, I understood how chefs, managers and owners think and I was aware of the tight deadlines and resources they were working with which prevented them from giving the business the digital exposure they deserve.
I decided to start a new business venture with a partner called Food Media. Food Media is a digital marketing agency specializing in food marketing. We run the social media pages of multiple restaurants, including running their ads, filming videos, photographing their products, posting on socials, writing captions and more. We also offer consulting to restaurants to help them navigate new business opportunities or address challenges like customer attraction and retention. Based on my experience in both the F&B and digital worlds, I am able to relate to the challenges that chefs and restaurateurs have and guide them according to industry trends without compromising their brand.
I’m lucky to do a job that has united my two passions: food and content creation!
The pandemic was terrible for restaurants but great for food-related content. As it turned out, it really transformed people’s use of digital. Chefs and owners had to alter their business models to deliver to customers and keep them excited about their food. Meanwhile, people stuck at home spent more time thinking about food, researching their options and drooling over photos online. You saw viral trends popping up overnight and people talking about takeaways and recipes everywhere. So, although it was unexpected, it really caused a rise in popularity of food-related content online.
Locally, food-related content in the digital space is very strong and is only getting stronger. There is a large community of foodies in Malta that are always looking for new and exciting places to eat. Whenever Millennials or Gen Zs hear about a new restaurant in Malta, their first stop is usually the Instagram page!
I think that the pandemic has created a lasting change. Even though we can go out and travel again, digital media remains really powerful when it comes to marketing and getting people excited about new experiences. Business owners have realised this and the demand for digital is bigger than ever, but there is a big difference between using digital well and using it badly! That is where having the right skills becomes important.
Obviously, I have seen it in the food industry, but I think it applies to all other industries as well and goes beyond marketing, to things like online systems and automation. Disruption is constant – things are changing all the time, so acquiring the relevant digital skills and staying current with the latest trends is really crucial, whatever your brand or business may be. Going digital is essential for business owners to future-proof their businesses.
FoodBlog Malta is keeping me incredibly busy and I’m really looking forward to new opportunities for guest spots, shows, and events! Meanwhile, Food Media Malta is working to grow a number of local brands in the digital space. There are also a few secret projects we are also working on that I hope to share with the local foodies soon! I’ve learned that new and unexpected things can pop up at any time so it’s best to be open-minded and go with the flow!
Things are changing all the time, so acquiring relevant digital skills and staying current with the latest trends is really crucial, whatever your brand or business.
ANDREW JOHNSONCEO & Founder
