Schneiders vs. SchnAIders

AI is increasingly blurring the line between what’s real and what’s fake, be it in images of people, art, and even food. In fact, as recently as March 2024, a study claimed that AI-generated food images looked “tastier” than the real deal. Schneiders, the 134-year-old deli meat brand, known for delicious tasting, premium meat products, takes as much pride in the quality of their food as they do in the quality of their food photography.

Schneiders depends on tasty-looking food photography content to drive engagement, interest, and affinity. And using real food photography is imperative to the brand, a brand that uses words such as “authentic”, “quality products”, “unparalleled taste”, and “craft” to describe its long history and its food.

So, when the March 2024 study suggested that AI-generated food images were “tastier” than real food, Schneiders took it personally, and put their hand-crafted, authentic, real food photography to the test, to see if AI could come up with photos that weren’t just tastier-looking than real food photography, but more delicious than Schneiders.

What did we learn? AI might be able to generate realistic-looking food imagery, but it can’t compete with 134 years of real food quality.