Whether you’ve tried it or not, you’ve certainly heard of HelloFresh. This meal-kit company has taken the world by storm. Founded in Germany ten years ago, HelloFresh now boasts operations across the world – from the United Stated to Australia. I was recently hired by Pink Banana Studios as a food stylist for the latest TV ad. If you’ve ever wanted to look behind the scenes at a commercial, this is your chance!
Food styling for the latest HelloFresh ad: The creative brief
The brief was to shoot a 30 second spot, highlighting the ease of using HelloFresh. In particular, the spot shows the entire process: from placing your order to serving the meal.
As a result, there were four set ups:
- The living room
- The pack shot area
- The kitchen
- The dining table
The food styling brief
Since HelloFresh targets people with no professional cooking experience, the styling on their recipe cards is minimal. It should look like what anyone can achieve in their kitchen!
In the same way, the styling brief was to match the recipe card as closely as possible. The recipe I was recreating was the Fillet Steak & Fries with Lemony Greens & Béarnaise Sauce.
On the recipe card, the dish was clearly split between three equal parts:
- The sliced fillet steak with the béarnaise sauce
- The fries
- The lemony greens
I therefore kept the styling minimal and maintained the same structure to the plate.
Little touches everywhere
Equally important was to convey the idea of freshness with the styling for this shoot. We therefore added fresh fruit and veggies that matched the brand colours, as well as drinks and a salad on the table.
In order to make sure they looked fresh, I sprayed them with a mixture of water and glycerine.
Shooting a food commercial
Have you ever wondered if there’s a kitchen in studios? The answer is often no! For this reason, I created a makeshift kitchen area on set in order to cook the food. I brought an air fryer and a portable induction plate, as well as all my kitchen essentials. And then I cooked the same dish again and again for different takes!
The HelloFresh Explainer ad
You’ve read about it, you’ve peeked behind the scenes. You can now watch the ad below!
The nitty gritty
The shoot took place in a London studio over a day. The ad has been released in Australia and New Zealand.
Director: Ben Spilling
Production Manger: Cait Lyn Adamson
Account Director: Emma Masding
Food Stylist: Naf Castanas
Production Assistant/ Art Director: Verity Kett
DOP: Anthony Lucas
Gaffer: Jasper Clarkson
Spark: Jon Prentice
Camera Assistant: Nicolas Stylianou
Sound Recordist: Andrei Leskovski
Cast : Jeffin Kunjumon
Production Agency: Pink Banana Studios
Stay in touch
I hope you’ve enjoyed this behind the scenes look. I’d love to know whatell me what you think below!
If you want to see more of my recent food styling work, check out my shoot with Kimberly Espinel of The Little Plantation. You can also read at my post about sourcing food styling props on a budget – it’s really useful if you’re just starting out.
For more of my work, have a look at my portfolio or my previous shoots at Chuku’s in Tottenham, SlowBurn London, or at The Haberdashery in Stoke Newington.
Lastly, don’t forget! You can always connect with me on Instagram and Pinterest.
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