Food Brands Are Leaving Millions of Views on the Table on YouTube
New analysis finds only 10% posted in the last month, and most miss simple optimization wins.
November 18, 2025 — Gourmet Ads has released new research into how food brands are using YouTube, uncovering a large gap between potential and performance.
Analyzing 2,500 verified YouTube channels across CPG, grocery, restaurant and beverage categories, the study reveals that while food brands have strong audiences and significant back catalogs, most fail to post consistently or optimize basic channel elements that drive visibility and engagement.
“This research started for our own purposes, as we wanted to understand both how food brands were using YouTube and how we could increase Gourmet Ads’ presence on YouTube,” said Benjamin Christie, Founder & President of Gourmet Ads. “Surprisingly, we found many food brands leaving easy wins on the table.”
The Size of the Gap
Across the dataset, food and beverage brand channels average 40,720 subscribers, 343 videos, and over 51 million total views each. Within this realm of food content, recipe videos and TV commercials together account for 60% of total views.
These figures demonstrate the vast reach of food content on YouTube, even if channels are not optimized for maximum discoverability.
Only 10.1% of food and beverage brands posted within the last 30 days, while just over half (52.8%) uploaded a video in the past year. Despite maintaining active subscriber bases, most brands are operating their channels sporadically.
Adding to the inconsistency, 20.5% of channels still include a number in their name (e.g., FoodBrand123), and less than half (46.2%) have filled out the “Country” field in their channel metadata — both simple details that improve discoverability.
“These issues are small and fixable, but they’re important,” said Justin Mosgrober, Head of Marketing at Gourmet Ads. “Channels with incomplete metadata or irregular posting schedules send weak engagement signals to YouTube. A channel can look dormant to the algorithm even if it has great content with millions of views in its history.”
Discoverability and Engagement Opportunities
YouTube Shorts continue to reshape viewing habits, especially as their influence in the algorithm continues to grow.
In the channels studied, 67.5% have published at least one Short. However, many brands are using Shorts reactively rather than strategically — uploading occasional clips instead of building an integrated short-form strategy that trains YouTube’s recommendation system to surface their content more often.
“Brands see consistent growth when they add Shorts to their strategy,” said Mosgrober. “It’s the perfect format for behind-the-scenes content or collaborations with creators. It’s not about abandoning the proven formats such as recipe videos; it’s about using the variety of options available on YouTube as a discovery engine.”
Another clear trend in discoverability emerged in the data, as custom thumbnails outperform YouTube’s auto-generated options with an over 20% higher click-through rate (CTR).
“While creating a full YouTube strategy can be a major commitment, small optimizations such as custom thumbnails can make a huge impact,” said Mosgrober. “And even things as simple as uploading the brand’s archive of TV commercials can fill out an otherwise barren channel and create real engagement”
A Framework for Optimizing YouTube Channels
The findings in this study are the background for the Gourmet Ads YouTube Optimization Guide. The Guide includes 33 tips and tricks in a practical framework for food brands to improve visibility, engagement and performance on YouTube.
“We didn’t start with the goal of releasing this research,” said Christie. “But it became clear that there was a real opportunity to help brands improve their YouTube presence. Ultimately, we hope the YouTube Optimization Guide is a useful resource to give food brands a set of achievable steps for optimizing their channel.”
Download the guide here.
What the Best Channels Are Doing Differently
The highest-performing food channels share three common traits:
- Consistency: Regular uploads to continually surface content to viewers
- Content Variety: A blend of recipes and storytelling formats across Shorts and long-form videos
- Optimization: Thumbnails, video descriptions, channel metadata and channel design that drive engagement and discoverability
Key findings
- Average subscribers per channel: 40,720
- Average videos per channel: 343
- Average total views per channel: 51,043,312
- 67.5% of channels have published Shorts
- 20.5% still include a number in their channel name
- 46.2% have the Country field populated
- 10.1% posted in the last 30 days; 52.8% posted within the last 12 months
- Recipe videos and TVCs account for 60% of total views
- Custom thumbnails average 22% higher CTR than auto-generated images
Media Contact
Justin Mosgrober
Head of Marketing, Gourmet Ads
mktg@gourmetads.com
About Gourmet Ads
Gourmet Ads is a global food and lifestyle advertising platform that connects brands with consumers across premium environments, including web, mobile, social video and CTV advertising. With deep category expertise and proprietary contextual targeting technology, Gourmet Ads helps CPG, grocery and food marketers reach consumers from inspiration to purchase.
