Title : Digital visibility and consumer engagement in traditional food spaces: The case of Arequipa’s picanterías
Abstract:
Arequipa’s picanterías are traditional food spaces in southern Peru where culinary memory, local identity and everyday sociability converge. Although they have been recognized as a cultural heritage expression, their continuity increasingly depends on their capacity to communicate authenticity, quality and cultural value to contemporary food consumers through digital environments. This study analyzes consumer engagement with traditional food heritage through the Facebook activity of the Picantera Society of Arequipa. The objective is to examine how digital visibility contributes to the promotion and preservation of picanterías as food spaces, and to identify limitations in the interaction between heritage narratives and online consumer behavior. The methodology follows a descriptive-analytical design based on documentary review and secondary analysis of Facebook metrics collected through Fanpage Karma. The analysis considers post type, reactions, likes, comments, shares and advertising value, and interprets these indicators in relation to the historical role of picanterías, chicherías and other popular food spaces in Arequipa’s food identity. The findings show that the digital content with the greatest engagement is associated with visual narratives of picantera women, festive practices, emblematic ingredients, traditional techniques and the chicha culture. However, comments and sustained interaction remain limited, revealing a gap between strong symbolic recognition and weak digital dialogue with consumers. The case suggests that traditional food spaces require more than heritage status: they need planned digital communication strategies that translate authenticity into trust, experience and consumer participation. From a Food Consumer Science perspective, the contribution of this paper is to connect food heritage, consumer behavior and digital food marketing in a Latin American case. The study concludes that the sustainability of traditional culinary spaces depends on integrating historical identity, food-service management and consumer-centered digital storytelling.
Keywords: Traditional food; Food consumer science; Digital engagement; Food heritage; Picanterías; Arequipa.
