Food Guilt Is An Outdated Marketing Tactic

Happy Monday, everyone. 

Every year like clockwork, I get a flood of messages after Thanksgiving weekend saying the same things:

I screwed up

I was so bad all weekend

There goes my progress

I was doing so well, why did I eat that?

Let me start by saying that nothing bad happened last weekend. But I'll explain why you feel like you royally messed up.

Food Guilt: An Invention of the Ad Industry

Now, I never worked in an ad agency, not even for a day, but I have my suspicions that food guilt was manufactured by the diet industry in the '80s. It puts you on a diet rollercoaster that's hard to get off of, and you're misled to buy quick-fix products if your weight is all over the place.  

Remember the diet and aerobics culture of the era? You were succeeding if you were able to push through constant hunger, get your heart rate up and keep it up for an hour or more a day (enter chronic cardio), and achieve a waif-thin body type with virtually no muscle tone. 

And when you operate outside those "rules," (and everyone will, because our species isn't built to behave that way) you feel guilty. Guilt is a marketing pain point that primes you for purchase. 

So, don't fall for it.

Food guilt robs you of the joy of the entire Thanksgiving experience. There's joy in preparing for the day. There's enjoyment in unwrapping the leftovers later. There's joy in thinking about the flavors and aromas of the day. And you deserve all of it. Don't let diet culture take that away from you. 

My Marketing Philosophy: Be Helpful

Sure, I have Primal Kitchen, but I don't see it as a "diet" product line. I don't promise the world that condiments will make you lose weight or solve all of your problems. I started the company because I was tired of frankenfoods and inflammatory oils being my only convenience option. 

My marketing philosophy has always been, help as many people as possible and success will follow. This works in every industry, by the way. 

Speaking of helpful... we have an incredible Cyber Monday deal running at Primal Kitchen today only - 30% off of your entire purchase, sitewide! It's a great time to stock up on your favorites or try something new. 

*To redeem, select your items at Primalkitchen.com and enter coupon code CYBERMONDAY2020 at checkout. Offer expires 11/30/2020 at midnight PST. Cannot be combined with any other offers. 

One Day Won't Affect Your Goals

The beauty of the Primal Lifestyle is that it's flexible. It allows space for indulgences, even a massive feast that happens once (or twice or three times) a year. Primal living also builds up your metabolic flexibility, so you'll bounce back quicker than if you were eating Standard American fare leading up to the day. We incorporate the 80/20 principle so that there's room to enjoy life and connect with others over a great meal. 

Guilt and shame have no place in the Primal Lifestyle. Just like one salad won't catapult you to your goal, one big meal won't throw you back right where you started. What you do most of the time is what matters. 

#listentothesisson