Craft food producers go #social

THEY'RE young, design-conscious and highly Internet-savvy - and they're turning to social media to hawk their homemade edible goods.

Unlike the kaya-churning and chinchalok-bottling aunties of yesterday, who largely relied on word-of-mouth marketing, today's burgeoning crop of craft food producers are gathering a fast audience from the virtual realm.

Most of these brands develop along a similar trajectory: a food-loving individual or family whips up a homemade batch of sauces or snacks; friends and family become taste testers-turned-customers; and soon - thanks to the visibility afforded by social media platforms such as Facebook or Instagram - an extended circle of curious parties start calling for it to be produced and retailed on a larger scale. More than six new small-scale food producers, largely run by people in their late 20s and early 30s, have emerged in the last six months, and almost all say that online branding has significantly bolstered their coffers.