The concept of “aura farming” has moved from memes into brand accounts. KFC, Grido, Wendy’s and Pilsen Callao are among the companies already incorporating this internet trend into their content — and some are even taking it beyond social media.
Online, “aura farming” is humorously used to describe actions, poses or moments that make someone look particularly confident, charismatic or cool, as if they were symbolically collecting “aura points.”
KFC Argentina made Colonel Sanders the star of the meme, showing him mewing with the message that he is “aura farming.”
Grido, meanwhile, brought Súper Gridito into an “aura farming” competition in one of its videos, adapting the trend to the brand’s own universe and characters.
But Wendy’s Honduras took the phenomenon from digital content into its restaurants. The fast-food chain turned the meme into an in-store activation: customers had to perform an “aura” pose, gesture or move in front of the cashier to unlock a 2-for-1 promotion.
In Peru, Pilsen Callao also joined the conversation with a post that plays with the language of “aura battles” and mewing, adapting the phenomenon to the brand’s local tone and context.
What makes this trend particularly interesting is not simply that brands are using the meme, but how quickly internet culture is moving from digital communities into commercial communication.
Joining these conversations is no longer just about spotting a trend. Brands need to understand its language, adapt it to their own personality and react before it loses cultural relevance.
Wendy’s case points to another possibility: turning a behavior born on social media into a real-world interaction with consumers.
Today, staying relevant also means knowing when — and how — to farm aura.
