Digital marketing trends food and beverage brands cannot ignore in 2026
The specific 2026 digital marketing trends most relevant to food and beverage brands, prioritised for visual discovery and retail media coordination.
5 min read
Marketing budget allocation across channels continues shifting in 2026, with connected TV, retail media and AI-assisted content production absorbing growing shares of budget, while some traditional digital channels see comparatively flatter or declining allocation.
Where budget has generally been moving
- Connected TV and retail media networks absorbing growing budget share, per the trends covered elsewhere in this series.
- AI-assisted content production reducing the relative cost share devoted to content creation.
- Some traditional, saturated digital advertising channels seeing flatter or more selective allocation.
General budget allocation trend data tells you where the average marketer's dollar moved last year — it does not tell you where your specific dollar should move, since your specific channel performance is what actually matters for your own decision.
Why general trend data should inform, not dictate, your allocation
Broader industry trends can highlight emerging channels worth testing, but your own specific performance data — genuine conversion rate, cost efficiency and audience fit for your business — should ultimately drive your actual budget allocation decisions.
A practical approach to budget planning
- Use broader trend data to identify channels worth testing, not channels to blindly follow.
- Base actual allocation decisions on your own measured channel performance over time.
- Maintain some flexible, experimental budget for testing emerging channels before committing significant spend.
Frequently asked questions
How much budget should be allocated to experimental or emerging channels?
This varies by organisational risk tolerance and available budget, but reserving a modest, defined portion for testing emerging channels is a reasonable practice for most organisations.
Should budget allocation be reviewed more frequently given how quickly channels evolve?
Yes, quarterly review of channel performance and allocation is more responsive than a purely annual planning cycle given the current pace of channel evolution.
How does marketing ROI measurement connect to allocation decisions?
Directly and essentially — as covered in our marketing ROI measurement guide, sound allocation decisions depend entirely on genuinely accurate measurement of each channel's actual return.
If you want help planning your marketing budget allocation for the coming year, talk to our team.
The takeaway
Base your specific budget allocation on your own channel performance data rather than simply matching broader industry allocation trends — general trend data indicates where the average dollar is moving, not necessarily where your specific dollar should move.
Written by Fibvo — Bengaluru and Erode, India — working with clients in other time zones. Questions, or think we have it wrong? Tell us.
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