If you’re a smaller food or FMCG brand, you’re probably already fighting for space on shelf and in people’s minds. Now there’s a new layer to that battle: people are asking AI tools like ChatGPT and other generative engines – to discover new products, pull together diet plans and find food and recipe inspiration.
Instead of typing “healthy high-protein snack” into Google and browsing ten websites, they ask an AI one question and get one answer.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation) is the idea of helping your brand appear in those AI-generated answers. But this isn’t just a job for tech and SEO teams.
For smaller FMCG brands, PR is one of the most powerful, budget-friendly tools you have to influence how AIs “see” and describe your brand.
Why GEO is a big deal for small FMCG brands
For smaller brands, the rise of LLMs is both a threat and an opportunity. If AI tools mainly pull in big, well-known brands, it becomes even harder for challenger brands to be discovered.
But..LLMs love clear, helpful, specific content. A small brand that explains itself brilliantly, and is mentioned in the right places, has a real chance of being surfaced as a smart recommendation.
This is exactly what good PR does:
- Turn brand positioning into simple, human language
- Get your story into trusted third-party titles
- Use insight about shoppers to shape the questions you naturally answer
So the question becomes: how can PR shape the material LLMs work with?
1. PR creates the stories LLMs love to quote
Generative engines don’t just pull lists of brand names. They pull stories, explanations and examples.
This is when good PR can turn your brand story into “explainers” that AIs can easily understand and repeat, and place those stories on trusted editorial sites, not just your own
PR is how that your brand ends up out there in the world, in places LLMs actually crawl.
2. Shopper PR supplies the real-life questions and use cases
LLMs are driven by questions. Shopper PR is built around missions and moments:
- “What can I put in my kids’ nut-free lunchboxes?”
- “What can I grab on the go that fits my high-protein diet?”
That insight is perfect fuel for GEO. It tells you:
- Which questions your brand should be answering on your own site
- Which angles PR should pitch to media and creators
- Which phrases will sound natural to real shoppers (and therefore appear in prompts to AIs)
So shopper PR isn’t just about in-store or retailer comms. It’s about understanding which real shopper jobs your brand can credibly own – and then turning those into clear, answerable questions.
3. PR builds the trusted sources LLMs lean on
When LLMs answer questions about food, diet and recipes, they tend to lean on:
- Reputable news and features
- Expert commentary (dietitians, nutritionists, chefs)
- Authoritative blogs and category reports
PR can help smaller brands:
- Collaborate with experts (e.g. dietitians or chefs) on content that lives on their sites as well as yours
- Secure reviews, round-ups and recipe inclusions on food and lifestyle platforms
- Place data stories and insight pieces in trade and category press.
Each of those becomes:
- A new source that can mention and describe your brand
- A vote of confidence that LLMs may treat as more trustworthy than your own site alone
You don’t need hundreds of these. A handful of well-placed, clear, descriptive mentions can go a long way for a challenger brand.
4. Shopper PR keeps the story rooted in real missions (not buzzwords)
It’s tempting to chase every diet and trend keyword: high-protein, low-carb, keto, plant-based, HFSS-friendly, low sugar, gut health… the list goes on. PR helps smaller brands choose their battles:
- Which missions can you honestly play in?
- Which moments do you have real permission to own?
- Which occasions fit both your product and your brand values?
Then PR can:
- Build stories, recipes and ideas around those specific missions
- “High-protein breakfast ideas under 10 minutes using [Brand]”
- “Budget-friendly plant-based dinners for families”
- Pitch those exact angles into media, experts and partners
The beauty of GEO is that when someone asks an AI a very specific question (“nut-free treat for kids’ lunchbox”, “high-protein breakfast on a budget”), you don’t have to own the whole world. You just need to be an obvious, well-described fit for that one job.
And that’s what focused shopper PR is great at.
5. PR shapes how LLMs describe you, not just whether they name you
Sometimes the win isn’t just “does the AI list my brand?” but “what does it say about me?”
PR and shopper PR can help ensure LLMs pick up on:
- Your benefits (“high in protein”, “low in sugar”, “nut-free”, “gluten-free”)
- Your use cases (“good for breakfast”, “ideal for post-gym”, “lunchbox-friendly”)
- Your values (“made in the UK”, “short ingredients list”, “sustainable packaging”)
That happens when:
- Your owned content says these things clearly (not just in marketing fluff)
- Earned media and partners repeat those same ideas in their own words
- Shopper PR work keeps bringing you back to what matters at the shelf or in the kitchen, not just in a deck
Think of PR as the craft of deciding which handful of sentences you’d like the world (and AIs) to repeat about you – then working to make sure those sentences actually exist, in plain view.
Where Joe Public fits
For smaller FMCG and food brands, GEO can feel like another intimidating acronym. But at its core, it’s just a new way of asking an old question:
“When people ask for help choosing what to eat or buy, are we part of the answer?”
PR and shopper PR are still some of your strongest levers to make that happen:
- By telling clear, human stories about your products
- By placing those stories in trusted places
- By rooting everything in real shopper missions and needs
At Joe Public, we focus on shopper PR and retail communications for FMCG brands. That means we’re already thinking about:
- how people shop
- what they ask – whether that’s in Google, in-store, or in an AI chat box
- how to connect brand storytelling to retail reality
If you’re a smaller brand looking to punch above your weight in the AI era, not with big media budgets but with smart PR and shopper insight, we’d love to talk.
