The TikTok trends brands can’t afford to miss this summer
From supermodel snacks to in-store drops, Pear helps you turn viral CPG moments into real-life retail action.
Pear makes viral food findable.
TikTok now has more than 1.5 billion active users globally, and 40% of Gen Z uses it as their go-to search engine for everything from recipes to where to buy ingredients. For brands, that means one viral post can spark a nationwide hunt for a single product.
This summer, four TikTok trends are dominating the food and beverage scene, and there’s a major opportunity to meet the moment with shoppable content that converts.
This summer’s breakout TikTok obsession? Supermodel snacks.
Sparked by Bethenny Frankel, this wave of high-protein, low-cal snack content is taking over feeds. Think: tomato slices with salt and pepper, turkey bacon on a bagel, Greek yogurt with mustard and Everything Bagel seasoning.
Of course, this trend is hardly new. From Gigi Hadid’s spicy vodka pasta to Hailey Bieber’s pizza toast, celebrity-inspired meals have long shaped what ends up in our carts. The difference now? Ingredients are flying off shelves before fans can snag them, and TikTokers are dubbing this the “Bethany Frankel effect.”
Frankel’s videos rarely mention specific brands, which creates a massive opportunity for CPG teams to step in and claim the moment.
Run a social ad driving to a Pear-powered Shoppable Recipe page, displaying the full ingredient list and paths to purchase directly at any/all of the nearby retailers with products in stock. Fans are ready to try these meals now – and Pear makes it easy for shoppers to go directly from your ad to their preferred retailer cart.
The age of the micro influencer is officially here.
Brands like Wandering Bear, Amora Coffee, and Santé Nuts are leaning into creators who feel more like friends than celebrities. These influencers often have tens of thousands of followers – not millions – which is their strength, not weakness. Their content feels authentic, trustworthy, and often converts better.
In fact, micro influencers generate up to 60% higher engagement rates than macro influencers, and TikTok users are 1.5x more likely to immediately buy something they discovered on the platform.
Give each influencer a unique, Direct-to-Cart Link with UTM parameters to track retailer visits, add-to-carts, and purchases by creator. Suddenly, influencer ROI isn’t a mystery – it’s a dashboard.
One quietly powerful genre of TikTok content? The retail drop video.
Brands like It’s August regularly visit stores like H-E-B and interview employees about when their products hit shelves and what customers are saying. Alec’s Ice Cream does it too, documenting their launches at Whole Foods and Target, racking up comment sections full of shoppers on the hunt.
“Y’all are just too good!! Take your time and know I’ll be buying/checking every day.”
These videos build real-time hype, and even more importantly, they drive real in-store traffic.
Use your drop videos as creative in a Pear Connect campaign. Pear automatically geofilters media to shoppers near in-stock retailers, so you're only reaching people who can actually buy your products. Then, build custom audiences based on retailer selections for retargeting, or expand reach to lookalike shoppers in new geos post-launch.
This summer’s trending TikTok audios – from “Your Love is My Drug” (shoutout to Graza who killed it with this one) to “Soul Survivor” (#airball) and “Spring Into Summer” – are exploding across feeds. These sounds trend fast and die faster, but the attention they generate can be channeled into lasting value.
Make sure your website – ideally your store locator – is linked in your TikTok bio or linktree to help shoppers seamlessly find the products they’re looking to purchase. Even better, install your TikTok pixel on your Pear-powered store locator to better understand where traffic is coming from and how it's converting. With Pear, you’re able to:
Viral content might disappear from the For You Page in a week, but store locator visits, add-to-carts, and audiences of brand loyalists keep delivering long after the audio fades.
TikTok trends move fast – and so do your shoppers. Pear makes your products findable, shoppable, and measurable, so you can turn virality into lasting results. From trending snacks to surprise sellouts, make every moment count.
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