Not every country can rely on iconic landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum, or the glaciers of Iceland. However, every nation can leverage culinary identity as a branding tool. When positioned correctly, even a single dish can serve as a powerful symbol of national identity and a driver of tourism.
One illustrative example is Lithuania’s Pink Soup Fest, which has turned a traditional cold beet soup (šaltibarščiai) into both a cultural emblem and an instrument of place branding.
Historical context
The origins of cold beet soup are debated. The dish is mentioned in a cookbook first published in Vilnius in 1852, Lithuanian Cook. The First Belarusian Culinary Book, which suggests that both Lithuania and Belarus could claim ownership. Wikipedia additionally attributes the dish to Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, and Latvian cuisines. Yet in the context of national branding, the decisive factor is not historical accuracy but strategic action. Lithuania acted first.
Strategic design of the festival
The inaugural Pink Soup Fest was held in 2023. From the outset, the organizers made a series of branding decisions that shaped its success:
- Global positioning. The English-language name Pink Soup Fest was chosen over the local Šaltibarščiai Festivalis. This ensured immediate recognition by international media and audiences.
- Institutional support. The event is organized by the city’s development agency, securing official backing, streamlined approvals, and access to central urban spaces.
- Distributed geography. While the official venue is Tymo Market — located between the Old Town, Užupis, and Paupys — the festival extends across multiple districts. Rather than being confined to a single site, it transforms the city itself into a platform for cultural engagement.
Brand-building outcomes
Several dimensions of place branding have been advanced through the festival:
- Cultural ownership. Lithuania positioned itself as the primary custodian of cold beet soup in international perception, even when media such as The New York Times noted its shared origins.
- Visual identity. The event associated the color pink with Lithuania in a culinary context, creating a distinctive symbolic asset.
- Branded assets. A carefully designed festival character and a broad merchandise line reinforce the brand without resorting to local clichés. Products are sold in mainstream retail outlets, normalizing access and broadening reach.
- User-generated content. The event triggered high levels of organic social media activity. In its first year, over 10,000 Instagram posts carried the #pinksoupfest hashtag within a week, amplified by international media coverage from Euronews, The Calvert Journal, and others.
- Tourism diversification. While Lithuania recently entered the Michelin Guide ecosystem, Pink Soup Fest highlights a mass-market, approachable culinary experience, accessible to a wide spectrum of visitors.
- Global visibility through records. Organizers set a record with a 362-meter-long communal table seating more than 1,000 participants, deliberately aligning the length with the historical origins of the dish.
Comparative perspective
Culinary festivals are a common branding mechanism — from the Herring Festival in the Netherlands to Pizza Fest in Italy and the Mooncake Festival in China. However, Lithuania’s case is distinctive in the way it integrates cultural diplomacy, urban space, and media strategy into a unified branding initiative.
Implications
Pink Soup Fest demonstrates how gastronomy can function as a tool of soft power. For Lithuania, it provides:
- A unifying cultural narrative;
- A differentiated identity within European tourism;
- A replicable model of culinary diplomacy.
Neighboring countries such as Belarus, Poland, or Latvia could have claimed similar ownership but did not. As a result, while in Vilnius cold beet soup has become a national symbol, elsewhere it remains an ordinary meal.
In conclusion, Pink Soup Fest illustrates how strategic cultural initiatives — even built around everyday food — can enhance global visibility, reinforce national identity, and strengthen a country’s position in the competitive market of tourism and cultural diplomacy.