With 200 plus food festivals in the Netherlands – and 50 in June alone – it is clear they are a huge success. The biggest festival is Rollende Keukens, followed by Eten op Rolletjes and TREK. Each festival easily attracts thousands of people every year, with Rollende Keukens taking the number one spot with a 100,000 visitors over the span of five days. The sudden growth in popularity is remarkable – but how did they get so successful?
Frans Nagel, one of the founders of Eten op Rolletjes, suspects that the popularity of food festivals increased because of the decrease in traditional shopping. “Traditional shopping decreased partly because of a decline in the variety of products in grocery stores and a rise in people who generally shop online. Accessible events, like food festivals, replaced the space in the market that was once used for traditional shopping, as people start looking for new interests.”
“It is rather easy for a festival to find an available space, which is what makes them so accessible,” Nagel continues. “Foodtruck owners can comfortably start up, which is how we started. When the first festivals showed signs of success, others shortly followed.”
It’s not just food, it’s a lifestyle!
As we all know food festivals’ main attraction is the food and sure, everyone loves food. However, that’s not all that makes these festivals so attractive. Teacher in Trendwatching at Fontys high education in Tilburg, Evelien Dieleman, has seen the way ‘food’ has gained more attention over the years.
“Whether it’s organic food, vegan food or cooking shows, food has become a lifestyle or at least a way to differentiate yourself from others.” Dieleman sees food festivals as a place to share your lifestyle with others and thinks it not strange at all that these events have gained so much attention. Food has become more than just food, as it can say something about your way of living or thinking. Foodblogger Danielle Vermeulen-Boon, from the blog Foodaholic, knows all about it: “Food is made attractive on social media and this has influenced the way we look at it. Through the use of social media, food has gained attention from both online users and founders of festivals.”
To each his own
“Food festivals are suited for people of all ages and all backgrounds. They’re basically for everyone who’s not afraid to try or discover new things – like sushi, Surinamese and vegan recipes – or for people who just really like food,” says Danielle. Foodie Philippine van der Goes shares her thoughts: “It’s impossible to try everything, there’s so much to choose from! Whether it’s Korean food, mussels, burgers or Cuban sandwiches, you’ll always find something you like.”
There’s much to explore on food festivals and it doesn’t stop with what you put in your mouth. Most of the festivals have workshops, music performances, theatre pieces or dance shows. Danielle adds: “The festivals are a great place for people to discover new things – think of trying pulled pork while listening to a band you’ve never heard of – and it’s usually what keeps them coming back.”
As much as social media brings attention to these festivals, the festivals compensate the amount of time we spent online talking to people. Frans Nagel explains: “People like spending time with their friends and family face-to-face every once in a while. I believe it compensates the lack of contact they have through social media. Food festivals are a simple and cheap solution to meet up with some close friends.”
Besides trying to reconnect with friends in real life, Nagel also stated that shopping in general has moved primarily to the online market, meaning we no longer shop till we drop. We will continuously have to look for new ways to fill our days off. Food festivals are a suitable and diverse market that have the possibility to attract an audience that is just as diverse. The bigger festivals manage to attract around 30,000 visitors of all ages and they’re quick to make a few thousand per foodtruck.
A future full of taste
However, Nagel warns the foodtruck industry: “Food festivals will have to constantly be renewed to remain attractive, while still maintaining a responsible business operation. A big part of the public will want festivals to be greener. They will less likely visit festivals with polluting facilities, like trucks with diesel aggregators or small things like disposable cutlery.”
Despite that, food festivals won’t lose their popularity any time soon, as we will always have the need to fill in our free time and won’t suddenly stop loving food. Nagel says it’s all about reinvention: “Food festivals need to continually look for new tastes, cuisines and recipes to keep their audience satisfied and to attract new visitors.”
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