Edible Aesthetics and Digital Storytelling: Sensory Marketing in Food Blogging Communities

Abstract

Food has always been more than sustenance; in the digital age, it has become a narrative, a performance, and a sensory experience extended through screens. This study examines how edible aesthetics and digital storytelling converge within food blogging communities to shape consumer perceptions, emotional engagement, and purchase intentions. Drawing on theories of sensory marketing and narrative transportation, we explore how visual, textual, and symbolic cues are orchestrated to evoke taste, texture, and atmosphere in the absence of physical consumption. A mixed-method design integrates content analysis of leading food blogs with survey-based data from readers to identify how aesthetic presentation, storytelling techniques, and community interaction foster parasocial bonds and influence brand trust. Findings highlight the centrality of multisensory cues in digital contexts, revealing that edible aesthetics not only stimulate hedonic appreciation but also enhance memorability, authenticity, and cultural capital. This research contributes to the growing literature on sensory marketing by situating food blogging as a hybrid space where consumption, identity, and digital storytelling coalesce. Implications are drawn for marketers, bloggers, and brands seeking to cultivate experiential value in virtual foodscapes.