Food is set to power the next batch of content creators, one meal, one story at a time

After what Hilda Baci did in October 2025 with jollof rice, many believe that the next wave of people claiming a share of Nigeria’s creator economy market will be food influencers. One player in that space right now is MAGGI, Nestlé’s culinary brand.

MAGGI held the second edition of its creators’ conference, which brought together food influencers, digital storytellers, and creative entrepreneurs from across Africa. The event, themed “The MAGGIVerse 2.0,” took place from November 1–2 at the Landmark Event Centre in Lagos.

It featured names like Sisi Yemmie, Noble Igwe,and Gina Ehikodi-Ojo, who shared insights on storytelling, creativity, and building influence around food content.

The brand also revealed 12 new MAGGI Food Ambassadors, including Sisi Yemmie, Ify’s Kitchen, Geenafoodiesandspice, Dr Jamila Lawal, Brian Nwana, and seven other food creators, recognising their strong online presence and authentic storytelling.

According to the inaugural Nigerian Creator Economy Report 2025, Nigeria’s creator economy is valued at over $31.2 million. The report also notes that Africa’s digital creator economy was worth $3.08 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $17.84 billion by 2030, growing at an annual rate of 28.5%.

Former Nestlé Marketing Director and now CEO of Entod Marketing Ltd, Mrs. Iquo Ukoh, captured the essence of the shift during her keynote:

“We are witnessing a cultural evolution. Preserving traditional dishes and presenting them authentically online will be key to maintaining Africa’s culinary heritage.”

People are trying to get a share of this market by food or by fire; either way, you need fire to make food. We have seen the chaos of people trying to break Guinness World Records in the food category, especially after Hilda’s first record and Chef Dami’s attempt, among others, until Guinness had to shut down the category. That period drew massive attention to Nigeria’s social media space — TikTok, Instagram, everywhere was buzzing.

The Nigerian creative economy is set to grow even more, with government targets of contributing $100 billion to the GDP and creating over 3 million jobs by 2030. As of late 2025, analytics platforms are tracking at least 74 food-specific Instagram influencers, with the majority of their audiences in Nigeria, not counting the fast-rising numbers on TikTok and YouTube.

During his session, Brian Nwana, Ghanaian lifestyle creator and Guinness World Record holder, said:

“Detty December is coming — an opportunity to trend food content because tourists will surely need to know where and what to eat.”

From the platform side, Vivian Chuene, Publisher Partnerships Lead for Sub-Saharan Africa at TikTok, added:

“The world is watching African creators. Global audiences are curious about African content, and now is the time to position creators to take advantage of that demand.”

At this point, it’s clear that food is more than what you bring to the table. It’s influence, culture, and content all rolled into one.