Food Vlogger Impact on Promoting MSE Culinary Products in An Emerging Country: Evidence in Indonesia

Abstract

The growth of social media has transformed the landscape of marketing, particularly for culinary products. Food vloggers have emerged as key players in promoting such products. This research examines the influence of a well-known Indonesian food vlogger, Tanboy Kun, on TikTok users' intentions to purchase culinary products from Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs), emphasizing user interaction as a critical factor. Adopting a quantitative approach, a survey of 275 TikTok users who had viewed Tanboy Kun's videos was conducted. Participants were selected through purposive sampling, and data were analysed using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4 software.The findings implicate that in Indonesia, as a rapidly growing emerging market economy with one of the most highly engaged social media populations in the world, Video Content and Video Quality are more crucial than the food vlogger’s reputation when developing effective social media promotional strategies for culinary products from MSEs. Thus, it is necessary for the MSEs  to enhance the quality of their own video content to create experiential marketing initiatives that encourage direct consumer engagement. This could help cultivate a more authentic connection with the target audience, ultimately driving purchase intentions more effectively than relying on influencer reputation alone.