The growing trend of Instagrammable restaurants

With Millennials set to have the most spending power of any generation by 2018, businesses are being forced to adapt to drastic changes in consumer behaviour.

One of the most notable changes of this behaviour is in the way Millennials use social media, particularly Instagram. With many Instagrammers now taking images of their beautifully presented food and displaying it on their Instagram profiles, food has become a huge part of social networking.

Restaurants have picked up on this trend and as a result there is a new wave of ‘Insta-friendly’ restaurants launching around the globe. Each element of these restaurants has been carefully crafted; from the decor and lighting to the way food is presented, all with the sole intention of customers posting photos on Instagram.

One of the first Instagrammable restaurants Pez Playa, opened in Mallorca in August. Located in a luxurious hotel, the restaurant has been specifically designed with Instagram in mind.

Staff are trained to encourage the use of Instagram, as customers enter the restaurant the waiter will remind them to check if their smartphone has enough battery, and when food is ready they’ll make sure the arrangement of dishes on the table is as attractive as possible. Pez Playa suggests ordering a variety of dishes to create a more vibrant and aesthetically pleasing photo and to further incentivise its customers, they offer a free dessert or cocktail if customers share a picture with the restaurant’s hashtag.

Over in New York, the Instagrammable restaurant craze continues. The Good Sort is a cafe designed with Instagram in mind. From colourful and attractive decor to aesthetically pleasing products such as rainbow milkshakes, the cafe actively inspires its customers to share photos on Instagram.

But the Instagram bug isn’t just limited to eateries, hotels are now jumping on the bandwagon such as the Ovolo 1888 Darling Harbour hotel located In Sydney, who lets those with more than 10.000 Instagram followers stay at their rooms for free.

For these businesses, Instagram is more than a social network: it’s also an extremely powerful marketing tool which provides an extremely attractive level of exposure.