For many food styling and packaging is just a way to make meals look more appealing. But if you’re a professional chef or home cook, you know that it is more than just making your meals appealing. It is a crucial factor in building your brand identity and attracting new clients.
Food styling and packaging help to create an experience for your customers, whether they are ordering online or in person. It should be part of your brand identity and should reflect the quality of the meal that you’re delivering.
Having stated this, it is important to define the concepts.
Food styling
Food styling can be defined as the art of presenting food in the most appealing way possible. It is a crucial element in delivering quality meals to your customers.
The goal of food styling is to create an experience for your customers that will make them want to eat what they see on their screens or plate. It’s more than just making food look appetizing; it’s also about creating an image that will attract your target audience.
It can involve the use of props, lighting, and other techniques.
Food packaging
Food packaging on the other hand is the process of designing and creating the containers in which food products are sold. Food packaging is often used to promote a brand image, while also ensuring that the food remains fresh and safe during transport or storage.
Think about the last time you ordered take-out or delivery. Was it presented in a way that made it look delicious and appetizing? If not, then your customers are not going to feel as excited about their food when they receive their order in packaging that does not present your food in its best state.
General Guidelines for Food Styling and Packaging
- Make sure your food is fresh and clean.
- Make sure your food is well-lit, with a variety of natural light sources behind you (a window, for example) and overhead lights that are evenly distributed across the background.
- Use backgrounds that complement the presentation style you’re using.
- Use props to dress up your subject(s). This can range from simple napkins or table linens to elaborate backdrops like waterfalls, trees in bloom, or even a full kitchen set up!
Tips for Food Styling
The Best Plates for Food Styling
Plates are an important part of the presentation of food. The type of plate you choose can help or hinder the way your food looks.
Choose a plate that is the right size for your dish. If it’s too small, you won’t be able to show off all aspects of the food in an appealing way; if it’s too big, you may have trouble fitting everything on there and keeping things organized attractively.
Make sure the plate has a clean, simple design. You don’t want to distract from your dish with an elaborate or colorful plate. If you’re using a white plate, try mixing it up by adding something like a bright red napkin or cutlery to liven things up!
Choose dishes that are easy to clean and don’t require special care. Avoid serving food on surfaces that will stain easily (such as wood), as this can look unprofessional and take away from the presentation of your food.
The Best Bowls for Food Styling
Bowls are one of the most useful tools in a food stylist’s toolkit. They’re used to hold ingredients and garnishes, present pastries and salads, serve soups and other hot dishes, and more. Depending on what you’re styling, there are several different types of bowls that you’ll want to have in your arsenal.
- Deep bowls: These are best for holding ingredients or as serving bowls for small plates of food like appetizers or desserts. They can also be used to create a rounded shape when paired with a sauce dish on top (as seen in the photo above).
- Large shallow bowls: These work well for holding larger quantities of food—like rice, grains, or pasta—and look great when filled with large portions or plated with smaller dishes around them.
- Smaller shallow baking sheets: The perfect size for holding cut fruit or croutons! You can also use them as ramekins when styling individual portions of soup or stew if you’re working with an over-the-top presentation concept like that pictured below:
The Best Cutlery for Food Styling
When it comes to food styling and packaging, you will want the best cutlery. The best cutlery for food styling is the one that is easy to clean, looks good, and is comfortable to hold.
The first question you should ask yourself before choosing a certain type of knife or spoon is “What do I need?” For example: If you will be styling food for a client who is more focused on a clean and simple look, then consider buying stainless steel cutlery. If you want to create an elaborate dish that requires the use of multiple utensils, then opt for plastic or wooden cutlery.
Garnishing to Make your Dish Pop
One of the most important elements in presenting food is garnishing. The garnish should complement the dish and not overpower it. Here are some tips for picking the right garnish:
- Use edible garnishes whenever possible, as they’re much more appealing than plastic ones.
- Choose fresh, seasonal ingredients to make your dishes look their best.
- Select contrasting colors—a red pepper with yellow rice or green beans with brown pasta looks great!
- Deciding on how many garnishes to use takes time and practice; don’t try too many at first! Also, be careful not to use too many similar colors; this will take away from the overall presentation rather than enhance it.
Tips for Food Packaging
How to Package Food in a Plate
Now that you know how to present food on a plate, it’s time to package it. The best way to package food is using a plate that is the right size for the dish and has a rim. You also want your packaging not to be too heavy or too light and not too large or small.
Here are some examples of plates that we recommend:
- Square plates: These are great for pasta, rice dishes, and salads. They’re also good for serving sandwiches and burgers. If you have a square plate, try cutting it in half to get two small servings.
- Round plates: These are best suited for desserts or appetizers such as tapas.
How to Package Food in a Box
A box is a great way to package food because it’s reusable and doesn’t take up too much space. However, it also has its downsides. For example, boxes are often flimsy and suitable for liquids or sauces that would leak out easily.
Here are some examples of boxes that we recommend: Rectangular boxes: These are good for packaging sandwiches, wraps, and burgers. They’re also ideal for pastries and snacks such as cookies or popcorn. If you have a rectangular box, try cutting it in half to get two small servings. Round boxes: These are best suited for desserts or appetizers such as tapas.
Also, in using boxes make sure the box is big enough to hold your food and durable.
How to Package Salads in a Jar
To package your salads in jars, you’ll need to get the following things:
- Jars (plastic or glass)
- Lids for those jars (if applicable)
- A knife with a sharp blade (like a chef’s knife)
Choose a jar size that fits your salad. For example, if you have small-sized leaves, then use small-sized containers. Bigger salads can be contained in bigger containers as well. Do not fill up the jar too much—leave about half an inch of space between the top of the leafy greens and the lid of your jar so that air doesn’t become trapped inside when sealing them up later on. You should also leave some room at the bottom so that the dressing doesn’t spill onto other foods below it once poured into its container!
How to Package Burger in a Bag
Use a small paper bag. Make the packaging look as much like the real thing as possible. Use a small brown paper bag, such as one from your local grocery store that holds about two burgers.
Use a large plastic bag. For example, if you’re selling five different types of burgers in your restaurant, package each type in a large plastic bag with your brand name and logo printed on it clearly so that customers can easily identify your product when they see it again at home or in another store later on down the road when they think back upon their experience eating at your establishment!
Use paper cups instead of Styrofoam cups because they are more environmentally friendly than traditional Styrofoam containers which take hundreds of years to break down once discarded into landfills due to their chemical composition; therefore not only do paper cups save money but they also help protect our planet’s fragile ecosystem!
How to Present & Package Pizza in a Box
Choose a box that is the right size for your pizza or pies. You want there to be enough room for customers to pick up the pizza without touching any of its contents, but not so much space that it becomes cumbersome when carrying around. If you’re using foam-based packaging materials (which are recommended), you’ll want something sturdy enough to hold your food while also being lightweight and easy to carry around by hand or on tray tables at restaurants.
How to Make Your Custom Labels for Your Food Products
If you want to create custom labels for your food products, there are a few things you should know. If you have a logo, that’s great! You can use it as inspiration for making a label design. Or if you don’t have one yet, now is the time to start creating one! Don’t be afraid if drawing isn’t what comes naturally to you, you can contact a professional graphic designer.
Choose the best typeface that fits both the look and feel of your product or company brand; this will help create an aesthetic connection between customer expectations from past experiences with similar brands.
Conclusion
Food styling and packaging are both important parts of getting your food to market. If you want to make a good impression on customers, your food must be presented well. It doesn’t take much effort or talent to make something look more appealing than it would otherwise—but you do need some practice!
We hope this guide has given you a good idea of how to style and package food. Your customers must see what they’re getting before they buy it, so if your food looks great on the plate or in the box, then they might be more likely to buy it. If you want to make sure your product stands out from the crowd at market stalls or farmers’ markets, then take some time to learn about food styling and packaging.
