The Nation and the Noodle: Indomie and Identity in Indonesia

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.