Malaysians don’t hate food festivals.
We hate paying premium prices for average food wrapped in loud marketing.
RM25–RM40 per dish isn’t the real problem. We pay premium prices for coffee, brunch, and omakase without much protest. The frustration begins when the value doesn’t match the promise. When the portion is small, the taste forgettable, and the only thing that feels premium is the banner design.
And yet, the cycle continues. New food festival. Same complaints. Same crowd.
That tells us something important: this isn’t just a vendor or organiser problem. It’s a consumer behaviour problem too.
Overpriced Food Is Not an Accident
Food festivals in Malaysia are expensive by design.
Vendors know most customers are not comparing prices logically. People arrive with a “once-in-a-while” mindset. It’s a special event. Spending feels justified. The psychological pain of paying is lower when food is framed as an experience rather than a meal.
That’s why pricing often aims for high margins over long-term trust. Vendors expect one-time buyers, not repeat customers. Once people accept this pricing as “normal festival prices,” it stops being questioned.
When customers expect to overpay, vendors stop trying to earn loyalty.
Misleading Marketing Does the Heavy Lifting
Here’s where things get uncomfortable.
A large part of food festival success isn’t driven by food quality. It’s driven by perception.
“Viral.”
“Must-try.”
“Longest queue wins.”
Marketing language paints an inflated picture that the product itself cannot support. Influencer previews rarely reflect real customer experience. Portions look bigger on camera. Taste is described in vague, exaggerated terms. Expectations rise quickly, while delivery stays average.
Marketing is not the villain. Misused marketing is.
When promotion is used to distract from weak value instead of communicating real strengths, disappointment becomes inevitable.
Yes, Consumers Are Part of the Problem
This is the part most people skip.
Malaysian consumers complain loudly, but act passively.
We follow queues without asking why.
We say “expensive” while still buying.
We post criticism online and return for the next festival.
This behaviour trains the market. Complaints without behaviour change are just noise. Every time money changes hands despite poor value, the system learns that the current model works.
We reward hype more consistently than honesty.
What Fair Value Actually Looks Like
Being critical doesn’t mean being anti-business.
Premium pricing is justified when it comes with:
- Clear portion sizing
- Repeatable taste quality
- Transparent positioning
- An experience that respects time and money
Good food festivals do not rely on shock pricing or one-hit virality. They focus on trust. Fewer stalls. Better curation. Honest marketing. Prices that can be explained without defensive excuses.
Fair value isn’t cheap. It’s reasonable.
Why This Cycle Keeps Repeating in Malaysia
Food festivals in Malaysia sit at the intersection of three forces:
- Price-sensitive consumers
- Experience-driven spending
- Low accountability structures
Organisers test pricing boundaries because the downside is small. Vendors chase short-term returns because loyalty is weak. Consumers enable the system because participation feels optional, but change requires collective behaviour.
Markets don’t correct themselves automatically.
Consumers do.
The Bottom Line
Food festivals don’t need to be cheaper.
They need to be more honest.
Until consumers stop mistaking hype for value, overpriced mediocrity will continue to win. And until organisers feel real consequences for overpromising and underdelivering, disappointment will remain part of the experience.
Food festivals don’t fail because Malaysians complain too much.
They fail because we tolerate too little quality for too long.
10 Proven Facebook Ads Strategies for Malaysian Businesses
Marketing Mix Modelling: The Secret Sauce to Skyrocket Your Sales
