BTS: How to show real homemade food/garden struggles for authenticity?

The Quest for Authenticity in Digital Storytelling

In an age saturated with perfectly curated feeds and aspirational lifestyle content, audiences are increasingly craving realness. For creators focusing on homemade food and gardening, showcasing the unvarnished truth—the struggles, failures, and messy processes—can be a powerful differentiator. Moving beyond the highlight reel to reveal the ‘Behind the Scenes’ challenges not only builds trust but also makes content more relatable and inspiring.

The journey from seed to harvest, or from raw ingredients to a finished dish, is rarely seamless. Yet, many creators inadvertently sanitize their processes, presenting only the picturesque outcomes. This article explores practical ways to genuinely integrate the struggles of homemade food and gardening into your BTS content, fostering a more authentic connection with your audience.

Embracing the Imperfect Journey

Authenticity begins with a mindset shift: recognizing that imperfections are not drawbacks but integral parts of the creative process. Instead of viewing a failed recipe or a wilting plant as something to hide, see it as an opportunity for teaching, learning, and connecting.

For gardening content, this might mean showing pest infestations, unexpected crop failures, or the sheer physical labor involved. For homemade food, it could be a collapsed souffle, a sourdough starter gone awry, or the chaotic mess left after a cooking session. These moments, often overlooked, are precisely what resonate with viewers who face similar challenges in their own homes.

Practical Strategies for Raw Authenticity

1. Document the Entire Process, Not Just the Wins

Make a conscious effort to film every stage, including the less glamorous ones. Don’t stop rolling when something goes wrong. Capture the confusion, the problem-solving, and even the frustration. This raw footage can be invaluable for creating honest BTS segments. Think about showing the arduous soil preparation, the initial failed attempts at grafting, or the multiple trials needed to perfect a new baking technique.

2. Narrate Your Setbacks and Learnings

Beyond just showing the struggle, articulate what went wrong and what you learned from it. Use your commentary to explain the problem, your initial thoughts on solving it, and the ultimate outcome – whether successful or not. This narrative turns a simple mistake into a valuable lesson for your audience, positioning you as a relatable guide rather than an infallible expert.

3. Showcase the Mess and the Effort

Homemade food and gardening are inherently messy and demanding. Don’t shy away from showing dirty hands, cluttered countertops, or the pile of dishes waiting to be washed. These small, realistic details often go a long way in communicating the true effort involved. It helps dispel the myth that everything is effortless, making your achievements, when they do come, even more impressive.

4. Share Unfiltered Reactions and Bloopers

Sometimes the most authentic moments are unplanned. Include your genuine reactions to a surprise garden success or a kitchen catastrophe. Blooper reels or short segments dedicated to funny or frustrating mishaps can be incredibly engaging, humanizing your brand and making your content more enjoyable.

5. Engage with Your Audience About Their Struggles

Authenticity is a two-way street. Encourage your audience to share their own food or gardening struggles in the comments or via Q&A sessions. By creating a space for shared vulnerability, you foster a supportive community where everyone feels understood and less alone in their imperfect pursuits.

Building Trust Through Vulnerability

By consistently showing the real struggles, you build a profound level of trust with your audience. They begin to see you not just as a content creator, but as a fellow human navigating the joys and frustrations of hands-on pursuits. This connection is far more resilient than one built on perfect aesthetics alone, leading to higher engagement, loyalty, and a more sustainable creative journey.

Furthermore, showing struggles sets realistic expectations for viewers who might be inspired to start their own gardening or cooking projects. It equips them with the understanding that not everything will go perfectly, and that resilience and learning are key components of growth.

Conclusion

Authenticity in homemade food and garden content is not about presenting a flawless facade, but about embracing and sharing the entire, often messy, journey. By consciously choosing to reveal the struggles, setbacks, and behind-the-scenes realities, creators can forge deeper connections, build lasting trust, and inspire a more honest and resilient approach to the art of creating and growing.