Whether it's the "smell of potato waffles under the grill", or the "gloop of a drop of golden syrup", food can provide the gateway to a trip down memory lane, said The Drum.
It is "experienced universally" and stretches across "different cultures and lifespans". Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. But food-related nostalgia is especially "powerful", given it "engages multiple senses: taste, smell, texture, sight and sound".
Smell "is closely linked to the limbic system of the brain responsible for emotion", making food memories "particularly vivid and emotionally charged". Indulging in childhood foods can also be a protective response, a way to "make ourselves feel safe when faced with uncertainty or fear", said The Drum.
And this feeling is "strangely comforting" when it is tied to "aspects of older media", such as film or television, Emily Contois, co-editor of "Food Instagram", told the Financial Times.
Tapping into "the role and relevance" of nostalgia today can really "leverage" a company's brand, said The Drum. But nostalgic marketing "doesn't always translate into present-day sales". While consumers look "fondly" on brands of the past, companies must invest in consistently "staying current" if they hope to achieve "timelessness". Some people are taking the nostalgia trend into their own hands, "creating foods themselves" to replicate the "homemade flavour and feel" of the past, said FoodNavigator.
