UGCStarsThe short version
Food and grocery brands want creators who can show a full Thanksgiving meal made well on a sensible budget, with real prices, simple swaps and a table that still feels generous. Prices on several holiday staples are up, most hosts and guests say cost is changing their shopping lists, and grocers are competing with low-cost meal bundles. A creator who shows how to keep the tradition and control the bill is exactly what these shoppers are looking for.
The angle is value, not sacrifice. Shoppers want the same meal for less effort and less money.
Why brands are casting for it now
Prices are shaping the shopping list
According to NIQ data reported by The Shelby Report, food prices are changing how 77 percent of US Thanksgiving hosts and guests build their shopping lists. In the 52 weeks ending September 5, cranberry sauce prices rose 15 percent and turkey breast rose 12 percent. NIQ found 36 percent will search for deals, 32 percent will use what they have on hand, and forty-six percent of respondents plan to buy more store brands than they did last year.
Hosts still want quality
A Wegmans survey of its customers found that among those planning to host, 87 percent are concerned about the cost of food and ingredients, while 72 percent say high quality is more important than finding the lowest price. Wegmans is offering a meal for eight for less than $5 per person.
Retailers are competing on meal bundles
Grocery Dive reports that Wegmans, Schnucks, Winn-Dixie and Price Rite announced low-cost Thanksgiving meals, following Aldi and Lidl bundles that feed 10 people for under $40. Aldi's costs $38.74 and Lidl's costs $35.86 for loyalty members. The same report notes Circana found shoppers are embracing prepared foods and catering for convenience.
Online grocery is growing too. Adobe forecasts holiday online grocery sales of $26.1 billion, up 10.3% year over year, one of the faster-growing categories of the season.
What brands ask creators to film
- Full meal on a budget: shopping, cooking and plating, with the total on screen.
- Store brand swap test: a name brand and a store brand side by side in the same recipe.
- Make-ahead plan: what to cook on which day so the host is not stuck in the kitchen.
- Prepared food upgrade: a store-bought side made to look and taste homemade.
- Leftover ideas: next-day meals that make the most of the turkey.
- Guest contribution: an easy dish to bring that travels well.
Recipe tutorials with a voiceover tend to work well. The camera stays on the food while the creator explains the steps and the cost.
Formats at a glance
| Your goal | Format to ask for | What the viewer learns |
|---|---|---|
| Show value | Budget meal tutorial | How to feed a group for less |
| Win store brand trial | Side-by-side taste test | Whether the cheaper option holds up |
| Sell convenience | Prepared food upgrade | How to save time without losing quality |
| Extend the season | Leftover recipe series | What to do with what is left |
| Reach guests | Bring-a-dish tutorial | What to make and carry |
If you sell an ingredient rather than a full meal, a single recipe built around it, with the price of the dish on screen, is the simplest brief to run.
How to brief creators for Thanksgiving
- Give creators the current price and any promotion dates, so they say them accurately.
- Ask for a real kitchen and a real table, not a studio set.
- Specify the group size the recipe serves.
- Tell creators whether they can show other brands in the same meal.
- Agree posting dates well before Thanksgiving, when people are planning menus.
- Ask for a short cut for ads and a longer tutorial for your site.
You can browse food creators on UGCStars and filter by Tutorials, Product Reviews or Voiceovers.
Think beyond Thanksgiving Day. The same creators can film a grocery haul before the holiday, the cooking on the day and leftover ideas afterward. That gives you three posts from one shoot and keeps your product in front of shoppers through the whole holiday week.
What creators should show
- The total cost and how many people it feeds.
- Each step at real speed, with sped-up waits.
- The finished table, served.
- One honest note, such as a swap that did not work.
- How long it took from start to finish.
Creators, viewers want a plan they can copy. Show the shopping list, keep the steps simple and be honest about where the cheaper option tastes different.
Mistakes to avoid
- Quoting prices that change by store or region without saying so.
- Making a budget meal look sparse. Abundance is still the goal for most hosts.
- Overcomplicated recipes that need special equipment.
- Posting after people have already planned their menus.
- Hiding prepared or store-bought shortcuts. Viewers welcome them.
If you host, show the moments around the cooking too: setting the table, timing the dishes and what you prepped the day before. Viewers who are hosting for the first time often value the plan more than the recipe.
Where to start
Brands, pick one product that fits a classic Thanksgiving dish and brief creators for a budget recipe tutorial and a side-by-side test. Creators, film a full meal or a single side with the cost on screen and add Tutorials and Voiceovers to your profile. You can find food creators on UGCStars.
UGCStars creators for this trend
UGCStars lists 1,096 food creators, with a median starting rate of $150 per video (UGC Rate Index method). Brands ask them for tutorials, product reviews, voiceovers, vlogs.
Featured food creators
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- Under 1K YouTube
- Top Creator
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- 1K–10K TikTok
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Sources
- The Shelby Report (NIQ data), 21 October 2026
- Wegmans, 19 October 2026
- Grocery Dive, 23 October 2026
- Adobe, 28 September 2026
About this report
Written by Murat Bo, founder of UGCStars, for the November 2026 edition of UGC Trends, and published on 1 November 2026. It’s based on the sources above. Figures appear only as their source states them, with a link, and every link was checked when the report was published. Creator counts and rates come from UGCStars on the day you read this. Report a mistake.