Chili's Fights the Good Fight to Make Its Menu More Instagram-Friendly

The world is obsessed with food porn. So much so that there is a show named after the concept and entire meals are being plated specifically so that diners can get a perfect shot. It was only a matter of time before a restaurant revamped its menu to make it look better on Instagram. According to Bloomberg, Chili's is changing the way it plates food for the purposes of good social media aesthetics. Its french fries are now served in stainless-steal containers instead of a plastic basket, the burgers are placed higher on the plate, and the chain now uses "buns with more visual appeal." Plus, they're willing to pay $750,000 to do so.

Selfies of people eating food is the sweet spot.

Chili's appears to be less focused on how the food tastes. "We look a lot more at how the food is presented," notes Wyman Roberts, the CEO of Chili's parent company Brinker International Inc. Switching out burger buns for a prettier version could result in bread that isn't as good as the original. But, the chain sees Instagram as an "extension of their marketing": "Food is the second most photographed thing, after yourself... Selfies of people eating food is the sweet spot."

The chain has been making a number of changes over the last few years to appear more hip. Besides serving more Instagram-worthy food, Chili's also upgraded its technology. All of its restaurants are equipped with Ziosk tablets which let customers order drink refills and take care of the check "without flagging down a waiter."