Navigating the New Food and Beverage Consumer: Why PR, Paid and GEO Must Work Together

Food, beverage and agriculture brands are operating in one of the most complex consumer environments in recent history. Economic uncertainty, persistent inflation and rising health care costs are reshaping how people shop, eat and make everyday decisions. Yet within this tension lies opportunity for brands that understand evolving consumer mindsets and respond with relevance, empathy and value.

At the center of this moment is trust. As consumers rely more on third-party validation from journalists, experts, peers, and increasingly on AI-generated summaries, public relations have become more central to brand growth.

Economic Anxiety Is Reshaping Consumer Priorities

Today’s consumer mindset and sentiment are heavily influenced by economic concerns, including job security, economic stability, health care affordability, and inflationary pressure. With these factors weighing on the consumer, it is no surprise that the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index remains stuck at historic lows, reflecting prolonged unease even as inflation shows signs of moderating, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

This prolonged anxiety has made consumers more deliberate. They are scrutinizing claims, seeking reassurance, and turning to trusted sources to help validate decisions, whether through earned media, expert commentary or AI-powered search tools that summarize options on their behalf. As generative AI increasingly shapes how information is discovered, brand reputations are no longer defined solely by owned channels. They are shaped by what trusted third parties say and by what AI engines repeat.

Value-Seeking Now Defines Consumer Behavior

Value-seeking behavior intensified in 2025 and shows no signs of easing. Consumers are making more frequent shopping trips while purchasing fewer items per visit, especially in center-store categories. Sixty percent of shoppers now compare prices across locations all or most of the time, using digital tools to ensure they get the best deal, according to Circana and Upside.

In this comparison-driven environment, it is critical that a brand’s value proposition be clearly communicated before and reinforced at the point of purchase – whether on-line or in retail. Earned media establishes credibility. Paid media ensures reach at key decision points. Generative engine optimization, or GEO, helps ensure that when consumers ask AI-powered tools for recommendations, brands appear with accurate, consistent, and value-forward narratives rather than fragmented or outdated information.

Together, PR, paid media, and GEO help brands show up where decisions are actually being made.

Wellness Has Gone Mainstream and Practical

Despite economic pressure, wellness remains a fundamental driver of food and beverage choices across generations. What has changed is how wellness is defined.

Gen Z views health as identity, closely tied to values and social proof. Millennials seek balance and functionality that supports busy lives. Gen X prioritizes resilience and efficiency, while Boomers focus on independence and long-term quality of life, according to Circana and Research America.

Across cohorts, wellness claims are increasingly scrutinized. Consumers and AI systems look to trusted third parties to validate benefits, drawing on credible media, research institutions and consistent expert voices. This elevates the role of PR in shaping not just awareness, but authority.

Because generative AI relies on repeated, credible signals across the web, brands must ensure wellness messaging is consistent across earned media, structured content and authoritative platforms so AI-generated summaries accurately reflect brand intent.

Home Remedies and Prevention Are Gaining Momentum

A growing prevention mindset is accelerating interest in home remedies, particularly as health care costs rise and vaccination rates decline. During the 2025 to 2026 influenza season, the majority of U.S. states reported high or very high levels of flu activity, while flu vaccinations were down 6% through the end of 2025, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This shift reinforces the importance of proactive PR. Brands connected to functional, preventive, or traditional benefits must ensure accurate, science-backed information is accessible before misinformation fills the gap.

When paired with GEO-informed content strategies and targeted paid amplification, PR helps ensure that credible narratives are the first things consumers and AI engines encounter.

Little Treat Culture Reflects Emotional Reality

Even as consumers tighten budgets, they are not eliminating indulgence altogether. Instead, they are redefining it.

So-called little treat culture reflects a shift toward small, intentional moments of joy. In the past month, 86% of consumers reported enjoying a snack, drink, or dessert simply to brighten their day. Two-thirds say they have a little treat weekly, rising to 77% among Gen Z, according to the Datassentials Hot Shot Report.

Emotion-led storytelling, long a strength of PR, plays a vital role here, framing indulgence as permissible, human and emotionally resonant rather than excessive. In generative search environments, these emotional cues are often compressed into short summaries, making it even more important that earned narratives retain warmth and context.

AI Is Becoming a Trusted Shopping Companion

Artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly influential role in how consumers discover, evaluate and purchase food and beverage products. Compared with 2024, Americans are turning to AI tools more frequently as go-to sources for information, according to AlphaROC.

GEO represents an evolution of traditional SEO, one in which PR-driven authority, consistent messaging and credible citations directly influence how AI systems describe brands. Verified information, structured content and visibility on authoritative sites are now essential components of reputation management.

Paid media complements this ecosystem by amplifying earned stories and ensuring high-value audiences encounter trusted narratives across social, search, connected TV and digital retail environments.

Turning Insight Into Opportunity

In an AI-driven media landscape, PR is no longer simply about visibility. It is about shaping the source material that both humans and machines rely on to make decisions.

When PR establishes credibility, GEO ensures accuracy in AI-generated discovery, and paid media delivers precision and scale, food, beverage and agriculture brands gain control of their narrative across every stage of the consumer journey.

The brands that will win are those that recognize this convergence and invest accordingly.

This article was first published on O'Dwyer's.