The Business of Mukbang: Why Watching People Eat Drives Takeout Sales

Introduction: What Is Mukbang?

A mukbang is when someone is filming themselves eating food, either while talking or in silence. Usually large amounts of food is being displayed and eaten and this interactive video has become extremely popular on TikTok and Youtube. Mukbangs originated in South Korea and was to begin with a niche way to satisfy cravings and hunger through videos and some even watch mukbangs to fall asleep due to the satisfying elements the eating creates. It can also be a way of storytelling and keeping the viewer engaged but regardless, mukbangs has become a huge part of food culture, and majority of viral food trends stem from mukbangs.

Why This Matters

The purpose of mukbangs is to create satisfying content and create cravings for the viewer. The mukbangs usually consists of takeout meals, fast food, or trending TikTok foods. When we repeatedly watch someone enjoy big amounts of visually appealing food it's hard to resist cravings and curiosity to try the foods.

The mukbangs create strong indirect marketing for restaurants and fast food places, and viral mukbang foods can severely increase attention and demand for specific food items. Mukbangs are obviously a phenomenon across the world and a lot of tourists that visit the U.S video themselves trying viral mukbang foods they have been craving, creating international demand.

How Mukbangs Influence Consumer Behavior

A big key to successful mukbangs is to involve satisfying elements, such as crispy texture, close ups, sauces, cheese pulls, and big bites. The more appealing it looks, the more the viewer craves it. Food reviews in form of mukbangs can feel more authentic than sponsored ads and traditional marketing. The food recommendations from a mukbang creator can feel more like a suggestion from a friend rather than marketing. Majority of the times the food is from fast food chains and therefor the food is very accessible, and these days things are all about convenience when it comes to consumption. The mukbang culture is heavily normalizing take out and when the food is accessible and affordable to the average person it creates demand.

My Analysis: Mukbang as Indirect Advertising

In my opinion it's refreshing to see non-sponsored food reviews, and it works way better than standard ads from the brand. The mukbang concept makes it more authentic and reliable, not only because they aren't getting paid to say it but because the creator willingly purchased from there and we get to see how the food looks and tastes beyond the heavily edited ads. When I look for places to eat I usually resort to TikTok to see what the food items actually look like and what seems to be the best item to order.

The mukbang concept has persuaded me to try certain menu items and fast food restaurants. Especially as someone that isn't native to the U.S I had multiple trendy mukbang foods on my bucket list when I first moved here.

Final Thoughts

Mukbang is proof of how we are shifting away from ads on TV and more towards influence from content creators. TikTok and Youtube allows regular individuals to create raw and unsponsored content and turn it into a promotional tool. Fast food chains and restaurant should be aware of how influential mukbangs can be to promote their business and drive up sales.

Join the Discussion

Do mukbang videos ever make you want to order food?

Have you ever tried a restaurant because you saw it in a video?