The “TikTok Aesthetic” and What it Means for Hospitality
I remember when “pink slime” was a bad food - not a food you want to stand in line for.
After living in the centre of Amsterdam for over three years, you can’t help but notice the countless hilarious lines of tourists waiting to buy the famous chips or stroopwafels. It’s just potatoes (or caramel wafers)! You can buy the exact same product (or likely a better, tastier, and cheaper one) on a different street 50 metres away!
But of course, what we all know is that these specific chips, or matcha lattes, or stroopwafels, have social media capital. They are Instagrammable themselves, making them so popular that people are willing to spend 40+ minutes waiting in the rain to try them*. They have the “TikTok aesthetic” - good for content.
These posts and videos showing the hottest food spots in the city reach millions of views. It can be a great way to discover new places to go, or what to try when you’re visiting.
Unfortunately, what happens a lot is that tourists (wanting social capital of their own) make a beeline only for these locations. They miss out on other good places to go, they spend some of their valuable vacation time in line (lines!), and it creates a nuisance for the neighbours. It’s actually hard on the businesses themselves as well, as in Amsterdam at least, they have to pay for their own security. Until the craze subsides, anyway. But if the choice is between getting the lines and getting zero tourists visiting, it makes sense that more and more restaurants join the race to serve the prettiest, most eye-catching dish. And as the competition gets fiercer and as food costs go up, we move from “beautiful” food to “food that’s beautiful to the algorithm.”
A lot of hospitality businesses are already making beautiful, cool, Instagrammable food. They’re doing that instead of plating it for a reel, so to find it, you may need to get lost in a city until you happen upon the gem local spot serving waffles from great-grandma’s recipe. It is still possible without following TikTok trends, and it can be much more rewarding. You then have an experience and a story that brings you, and that business, social capital (not just social media capital).
As customers, we should focus on finding genuine experiences, supporting local businesses and trying real local products. And then - giving these businesses the content boost they need through our own photos and Google reviews! By doing this, we support craftsmanship, small businesses, local/homegrown food, and still come away with a great story for our friends and followers - one that doesn’t begin with, “So after waiting for an hour in line….”
PS. If you’re wondering where to find these spots, including pink slime fries - check out the renowned travel blogger Midjourney.