As Jim has said in a previous post: “Food is entertainment, more than ever, and that changes things throughout the industry.” And it turns out that foodie entertainment is coming from some unlikely places, including a dorm room at Columbia University. Forbes contributor Eve Turow Paul reports on “dorm room chef” Jonah Reider, a recent graduate who’s taking the food is entertainment concept to new heights. Here’s the concept for one of his recent events: “So I’m planning an event …

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In a new report, Packaged Facts explores millennial food trends, which can also offer insight for live entertainment marketers. The first one is customization: Millennials want food items that are “fresh, creative, and made just for them,” says Packaged Facts. And second, munchies are replacing meals, with millennials opting for several snacks or small meals throughout the day. These trends are food for thought when it comes to thinking about how you can customize bite-sized marketing efforts that millennials can …

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Back in 2014, Jim declared that food is entertainment, and gave some advice for live entertainment organizations: “Like the immersive stuff we’ve been talking about, food events done to [a high] degree of care and customer experience raise the stakes once again on what people expect from a traditional, seated, watch-the-show or -game type of event. It would be a big mistake for you to put this kind of event in a different (and conveniently noncompetitive) category from your theater or sports team …

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For the travel industry, food is a big — make that a huge — deal. Dan Peltier at Skift.com reported that nearly one in two millennials consider themselves “foodies” and that foodie travelers spend 18-20 percent more in destinations across every age group and country of origin. However, food experiences aren’t just relegated to a restaurant dining room. Skift reports that tourists are looking for more immersive experiences — one-on-one tours, lessons from chefs and themed tastings that give them …

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Is the story we’re told about the food we eat more important than the actual meal itself? According to a new study out of Hong Kong commissioned by the hospitality firm CatchOn, it might be. CatchOn’s founder, Catherine Feliciano-Chon, shared her thoughts about the study’s findings via email with Fast Company, writing that consumers today appreciate a meal with a little backstory because they’re more engaged and educated than ever before. “We photograph our dishes before we eat, we experiment …

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\Pumpkin Spice: Every food marketer wants in on the trend, which Vanity Fair’s Dan Pashman chronicles hilariously here. And though I don’t think the purpose of Dan’s piece is hard-nosed business analysis, he makes a statement that’s similar to the incorrect lesson that a lot of marketers take away from the “Pumpkin Spice” phenomenon: “ … as an American there are two things I love — sugar and artificial scarcity. Stamp the words “LIMITED EDITION” on a package of something …

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