Indomie is Indonesia’s largest instant noodle producer and one of the largest in the world. The company has had massive commercial success in both international and domestic markets. As a brand Indomie is caught in two distinct flows: the global and the national. The company is reliant on global supply and distribution networks, without which it would be unable to produce its instant noodles. Simultaneously, Indomie occupies a cultural position as part of an Indonesian soft “gastronationalism.” Drawing on Webb Keane’s work on affordances, I explore how the national and international flows afford specific uses to Indomie with special reference to the brand’s public presentation. Using this method of analysis, I show how Indomie draws from an idea of “Indonesianness” and how other actors have read Indomie as an unconventional symbol of Indonesian nationhood.
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Spring 2022
