Krittinee Nuttavuthisit
Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration, Chulalongkorn University
“Where are you from?” “Thailand.” “Oh! I love Thai food.” These statements are not uncommon among conversations between foreigners and Thai people. The strong relationship between Thai cuisine and Thailand has been demonstrated in many studies. Thai food is widely known and appreciated in the world. It symbolizes not only food qualities (e.g. tastes, smell, presentation) but also the country’s image. This proposed study aims to explore how global consumers perceive the image of Thailand via their consumption of Thai food. The qualitative research, including a three-month field immersion, observations, and interviews, was conducted with consumers in the United States, the second-largest market for Thai food exports. Results of this research illustrate the phenomenon, activity, or institution related to consumption of Thai cuisine. Emergent meanings of the essential qualities of Thai cuisine describe the essential features of the country’s images: flavorful taste, extraordinary variety, and exotic presentation. Knowledge of the relationship between product consumption and country image, particularly from the consumer’s perspective, will facilitate the design of the Thai Government’s policy to obtain the best benefits from Thai products or services that are marketed globally.
(Presented in the International Conference – Thai Food Heritage: Local to Global, 4-6 August 2009, Tawana Bangkok Hotel, Bangkok, organized by The Project of Empowering Network for International Thai Studies (ENITS), Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University with support from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF))