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
Vertical video has become the dominant format across major social platforms, yet many businesses still produce content horizontally and crop or resize it afterward — a shortcut that genuinely underperforms content designed for the vertical format from the start.
Why simple resizing genuinely underperforms
Horizontal footage cropped to vertical often loses important visual context, awkwardly frames subjects, or wastes the format's actual strength — the full-screen, immersive mobile viewing experience vertical video is specifically designed to exploit.
- Cropped horizontal footage often loses visual context or awkwardly frames the subject.
- Vertical-native content can use the full screen for genuinely immersive, mobile-optimised composition.
- Text and graphic overlays designed for horizontal space often do not translate well to a cropped vertical frame.
A vertical video that started life as horizontal footage almost always looks and feels like exactly that — a compromise, not a genuine choice, and audiences can tell the difference even if they cannot articulate why.
Practical vertical-native production principles
- Frame shots specifically for the vertical aspect ratio during filming, not in post-production.
- Design text and graphic overlays for the vertical space from the start.
- Consider how the content will be viewed — typically one-handed, on a phone, often with sound initially off.
When horizontal-first production still makes sense
Content genuinely intended primarily for horizontal contexts (YouTube long-form, connected TV) should still be produced horizontally — the point is matching production approach to the primary intended viewing context, not defaulting to vertical universally.
Frequently asked questions
Is it ever acceptable to resize horizontal content for vertical platforms?
For lower-stakes, high-volume content where production resources are genuinely limited, it can be an acceptable compromise — for flagship, high-investment content, native vertical production is worth the additional effort.
Should businesses produce separate vertical and horizontal versions of major campaigns?
Yes, for content with sufficient budget and strategic importance, producing genuinely native versions for each primary format outperforms a single, compromised universal version.
Does vertical video composition differ significantly by platform?
The general principles are shared, though specific platform conventions (text placement avoiding UI overlap, typical viewing duration) benefit from platform-specific attention.
If you want help developing a genuinely vertical-native video strategy, talk to our team.
The takeaway
Shoot and frame content specifically for vertical from the start, rather than cropping horizontal footage afterward — the composition and framing differences are significant enough that resizing genuinely underperforms native vertical production.
Written by Fibvo — Bengaluru and Erode, India — working with clients in other time zones. Questions, or think we have it wrong? Tell us.
Keep reading
Related articles
Digital marketing trends global email campaigns cannot ignore in 2026
The specific 2026 trends shaping email marketing for businesses running international, multi-market email campaigns, and the practical adaptations this requires.
5 min readDigital marketing trends exporters and importers cannot ignore in 2026
The specific 2026 digital marketing trends most relevant to export and import trading companies, prioritised for international B2B buyer and supplier discovery.
5 min readNext step
Tell us what you are trying to grow.
Send the problem in a paragraph. We will reply within one working day with an honest view of whether we can help, and what it is likely to cost.