How TikTok Shop is changing innovation for food and beverage brands

Big companies, including PepsiCo and Mars, are using the app’s e-commerce feature to drive sales and inform new products, according to the platform’s head of food.

What happened

TikTok's in-app shopping system could be the next big frontier for food companies, with large brands including PepsiCo, Mars and Hershey beginning to more heavily engage with the social media app.

TikTok Shop’s food category sales have more than doubled year over year, according to the company, posing a lucrative emerging growth channel for food manufacturers. Companies are using the platform not only to sell products, but also to inform their innovation strategies and quickly respond to the next big internet trend like Dubai chocolate or freeze-dried candies.

Why it matters

The growth reflects a broader acceleration in what TikTok calls "discovery commerce." In 2025, the platform saw more than 103 billion searches from U.S. users who used the app with the intent to purchase something, a company spokesperson said in an email. Total transaction volume was up nearly 80% year over year and enterprise brand sales climbed 97%, the spokesperson added.

Food Dive spoke with Amanda Parker, TikTok Shop's head of food, about how CPG brands are engaging with the app and how TikTok trends are reshaping innovation cycles.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

This news brief is based on reporting published by Food Dive on 2026-06-29. The original report is linked below.