UAE Millennials are transforming foodie culture from posting photos on Instagram to “in real life” communal experiences, social media watchers said ahead of the launch of a new social food concept on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

A young and social media savvy country, the UAE has the Mena region’s highest Instagram adoption rate and second-highest number of daily users, at 1.2 million, according to the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government’s Arab Social Media Report.

Instagram is a major platform for spreading the culinary love in the UAE. A BCG survey shows that Millennials eat out over three times a week, 20 per cent higher than non-Millennials.

“The UAE’s restaurants, hotels, and celebrity chefs are all harnessing Instagram to engage with youth audiences and to enhance their brands. Food is playing a starring role on Instagram and Snapchat. Millennials want more than to dine out, they want to spread the culinary love with communal experiences that that they can share with friends and family,” said Ramzi Nazhad, co-founder of experiential event agency BRAG.

Bringing together the UAE’s Millennial foodies, BRAG and Miral, the developer behind Yas Island’s leisure attractions, are collaborating to create Club Social. Celebrating the ‘social’ in social media, the Club Social destination and meet-up concept will launch its first edition will focus on food.

The full weekend’s worth of dining, lounging, sunning, snapping, and posting on Yas Island will take place from April 27-28 with the hashtag #SocialInRealLife.

Food lovers and foodie content creators can participate in more than 15 kinds of food experiences, live cooking stations and workshops, beach retail and sports, performances, an outdoor beach cinema, and a moveable feast of post-worthy backdrops. – TradeArabia News Service