Digital Food Marketing and Food Security Resilience in Times of Global Disruptions: A Review

HRMARS - Global disruptions from the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and geopolitical conflicts have triggered the breakdown of global food systems and highlighted the vulnerabilities of food security. This review identifies digitalization in food marketing as one strategic way to enhance the food system's flexibility. With the support of literature and case studies of GrabFood, Uber Eats, and Kitopi, this study investigates the implications of digital infrastructures such as the platform economy, cloud kitchens, and social media in relation to the four pillars of food security. This includes availability, accessibility, affordability, and utility of food. This study finds that during the COVID-19 pandemic, digital food marketing evolved beyond crisis management to a mechanism of structural resilience of food systems that continues to address and stabilize demand, sustain consumer confidence, and create new market opportunities. However, a “market” variant of “captive” digital food marketing is far from a panacea, as important issues of sustainability, workers' rights, and digital inclusion remain. This study provides insight into the digital marketing of food and security in a fragile and increasingly unpredictable global economy.