• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

Cultural Dynamics in a Globalized World – Budianta et al. (Eds) © 2018 Taylor & Francis Group, London, ISBN 978-1-138-62664-5 “You are what you eat ... and post”: An analysis of culinary innovation and cultural branding in Panggang Ucok’s Instagram account S.M.G. Tambunan & M.R. Widhiasti Department of English Studies, Faculty of Humanities, Universitas Indonesia, Depok, Indonesia ABSTRACT: Culinary practices in our everyday lives have been analyzed in a great deal of researches arguing that food and drinks are essential parts in identity construction. The main function of culinary practices is to establish a sense of belonging in a particular environment. One of the tools in disseminating information about culinary practices whilst constructing one’s cultural identity through culinary practices is social media, in this case Instagram. Through a Cultural Studies perspective, this research investigates how Panggang Ucok, a culinary business in Jakarta, relies heavily on culinary innovation mixing localities from all over Indonesia to sell its products. At the same time, through its Instagram account, there are multiple strategies used to construct personalized images by emphasizing on the owner’s family as well as close and friendly relationships with the employees and customers unlike other Instagram pages owned by other culinary businesses, which focus solely on the products. In other words, in the dynamic relationship between the business owner and the ‘imagined audience’ of the Instagram page, Panggang Ucok is constructing an ideal image of a traditional-modern, commercial-private, and local-global articulation of identity. 1 INTRODUCTION Social media has become a space where we document and curate our everyday lives, including the meals that we eat daily. People are snapping photos of their meals before they eat either in a fancy restaurant or a food stall on the side of a busy road. This has transformed a cul- tural practice as a necessary daily routine to a competitive sport between social media users. They will hunt for the newest and most trendy/happening culinary gems to elevate their own personal status. Eating has always been a focal point in socializing, and our culinary practices reflect an array of social and cultural status, such as our class, gender, and to which genera- tion we belong to (Rousseau, 2012). Furthermore, the existence of social media in its connec- tion to culinary practices has destabilized the dissemination of food information through old media without the presence of a centre of information flow. The driving force of social media is a conversation opening new spaces to talk about food and culinary practices. Instagram, for example, has become a tool for today’s consumers to learn about products based on the experiences of other consumers instead of experts or food critics, or even food reviews by journalists in the old media, namely printed newspapers or magazines. Marketing via social media in the culinary business has experienced a significant develop- ment in the last few years. “Unlike traditional media such as company websites or paid outdoor advertisements, social media create a two-way street between businesses and their core consumer segments” (Bui 2014, 6). Even though, on one hand, owners of culinary business make use of social media as a promotional tool, consumers are also able to give feedbacks to the business owners through their social media posts. As mentioned earlier, conversations created by social media between the actors are tools to construct particular images and build brand awareness for new consumers. In the process of branding, business owners need to continuously innovate, even 805 though their first priority is to gain profit. However, at the same time, they need to construct images that will become the main characteristic of that culinary business. For culinary business owners selling traditional menus, innovation marketed through social media could also be seen as a representation of identity. As a case study, this research investigates a culinary business, Panggang Ucok, which was established in August 2015, sell- ing Babi Panggang or Roasted Pork from North Sumatra. However, Panggang Ucok (which will be abbreviated into PU throughout this article) is not only selling its Bataknese or North Sumatra identity. This particular ethnic identity is somehow obscured since there are constant innovations repackaging the food they sell inspired from different localities in Indonesia. The research focus is on how Panggang Ucok as a representation of ‘traditional yet modern’ culi- nary business owners utilizes social media through strategies of innovation and collaborative yet emotional branding. By conducting a thorough textual analysis on its Instagram account, the main objective is to investigate how social media is constructing the desired images, cre- ating conversations between culinary actors, and articulating a dynamic identity formation through culinary practices. 1.1 “Make yourself feel at home”: PU’s strategic branding PU has used its Instagram account (@panggangucok) to promote the restaurant’s products by constantly posting the pictures of the products and alluring testimonials from their con- sumers. There are several narratives that are used to signify the culinary business’ distinct features. One of the main narratives being used is the discourse of family. Among the photos posted on @panggangucok instagram page, almost half of them are photos portraying Bang Ucok (the owner)’s family or employees, who are depicted as part of the Panggang Ucok’s family. Most of the pictures are depicting his family or his employees’ daily lives because as business grows strong, the family’s centre of activities is at the restaurant. By posting pictures related to his personal life, Bang Ucok uses @panggangucok Instagram account more like his personal account, even though it is used to sell roasted pork. The account is exclusively used as a business account since it has been created for business purposes. The strategy to manage the account like a personal account creates amity between Panggang Ucok and its consum- ers. This is a strategy that is rarely used by other online culinary business owners who mainly use impersonal or very business-like posts to sell their products. In general, the pictures (and captions) of family members and employees posted in @panggangucok reflect a sense of affection and gratitude towards the people who work for the business. When this account gained 1000 followers, for example, @panggangucok posted a picture of its employers holding a cake with a caption “All credits go to these hum- ble people behind every pork bowl we have enjoyed.” Furthermore, before Eid Mubarak, @panggangucok posted a picture of Ucok sending his employees away to go mudik or go back to their hometown to celebrate Eid Mubarak. By showing these pictures and from the captions, PU is expressing an identity of kinship that has become the foundation of the busi- ness. Moreover, PU relies mostly on online transportation apps, such as GoFood from Gojek or GrabFood from Grab, for the order-delivery system. In @panggangucok, we can see a lot of posts depicting PU’s gratitude towards the drivers from Gojek or Grab. These drivers, from the posts, are considered as part of the family because of their contribution to the busi- ness. As an example, PU posted pictures of Gojek drivers having a free meal or a corner in the restaurant with free drinks for the drivers who come to pick up orders. By emphasizing on the discourse of family and kinship reflecting the restaurant as a ‘home,’ PU strategically uses the converse nature of modern culinary practices, which relies on busi- ness-like features of convenience, casualness, and speed. Moisio, Arnould, and Price (2004) argue that in modern times, particularly in an urban setting, food consumption has been altered to fit the fast-moving lifestyles. The consumers’ culinary habits have been changed, for example, the development of fast-food industry altering family life and consumption rituals. PU is reassessing the meaning of eating out or even eating at ‘home’ as relying on its family and kinship identity to create a more ‘feel at home’ or ‘be part of the family’ nuance, not only from the food they sell but also from their business features depicted in their social media. 806 1.2 Panggang Ucok’s ambiguous Bataknese identity In the past, PU’s was an online culinary business selling its product by mainly posting the products on Instagram. Customers could order the food via instant messaging services and it would be delivered to the customer’s house by Gojek, the online transportation service. The restaurant used to be the main kitchen in which Ucok and his staff cooked and prepared the food before being delivered to the customers. Even though their main menu is Batak- nese roasted pork, PU is different from a regular traditional Bataknese restaurant, which is called Lapo. If someone wants to eat Bataknese roasted pork or other Bataknese delicacies in Jakarta, they will immediately think about Lapo. The word Lapo actually refers to a tavern or a space in many areas in North Sumatra where people (mostly men) gather to drink coffee, tea, or tuak, a traditional alcohol fermented drink, and some Bataknese food. In its origin, Lapo is not actually a place to have big meals as it mainly sells drinks and a few choices of food. The main function is as a space to get together and engage in conversations. However, in Jakarta, Lapo is, first and foremost, a restaurant selling Bataknese food for the Bataknese diasporic communities in the capital city. PU portrays its restaurant as the ‘modern’ lapo, but the only thing that signifies the restau- rant as lapo is simply because it sells Bataknese roasted pork as the main menu. The interior or even the types of food and drinks they sell are completely different from the regular lapo.

Load more

  5

Copy Link