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Sareeka Neupane is the face behind the Instagram page, ‘lil.foodie_’ which has 160K followers and over 1,500 posts. She started food vlogging four years ago, after finishing her 10th-grade exams. She is just 20 years old. Currently pursuing a degree in BHM (Bachelor in Hotel Management), Sareeka aspires to own a restaurant in the future and continue exploring new places for compelling food vlogging content. Babita Shrestha from ApEx spoke to Sareeka to find out how she makes content that is relevant, interesting, and fun. 

How do you brainstorm and come up with ideas for food vlogs?

Coming up with ideas for my food vlogs is pretty spontaneous. I just chill, observe things around me, and the idea for the content kind of just pops into my head. Recently, I heard about Tamu Lhosar, so I thought, why not go all out? I rented a Gurung dress and headed out to capture some cool content. I prefer to visit locations and make content for their exceptional food menus and inviting ambiance. I also create paid promotional content for places that reach out to me. I like to mix in some information along with the visuals of food. I like to, as they say, ‘go with the flow’. If you’re starting and feeling a bit unsure, you could start by basing your content on the ongoing festivities or the time of year. Since it’s winter now, I’ve been dropping some cozy winter recipes. 

Are there specific strategies you used to attract and retain followers?

The deal on getting and keeping followers is all about being consistent with your posts. You’ve got to keep your audience engaged by regularly sharing content. I drop my reels and videos every morning and post other food-related content throughout the day. If you want to boost your followers, post some reels with trendy songs. For paid promotion, I like to do voice-overs in my reviews, and for the regular posts, I go with some catchy music. Also because people love to learn, I focus on informative content details like presentation, ambiance, taste, reviews, location, pricing, and even parking information. Gaining followers can be pretty stressful at first but if you keep updating reels and posts, exposure and followers are sure to come by.

What factors do you consider before entering into a brand partnership?

Usually, brands reach out through emails and PRs. Some brands prefer a barter system, offering freebies like food, services, or accommodation in exchange for promotional posts. While some food bloggers even approach brands for collaborations, I haven’t done so yet. If you don’t have a huge following, you can reach out to brands with persuasive pitches for mutual growth. If you’re a beginner looking to grow, I can even assist with collaboration opportunities.

How do you work on your videos?

I often take help from my mom with homemade food content. Getting recipes from family members who know their way around cultural cuisine adds a nice touch. I recently shared a video on ‘Gheu Chakhu Bhaat’, a perfect winter dish that got a good number of views on Instagram. In addition, I spice up the reels with some interesting information, sharing memories and personal stories to make each post more engaging.

If we are shooting at a restaurant, I make sure they are pre-informed and we stick to our schedule. Once we’re there, I talk to the staff to decide on what to eat, especially focusing on seasonal and special dishes. I like to capture everything so I ask them to let me know when they’re plating the food. When the dish is on the table, I take close-up shots and pictures of myself enjoying the meal. Later, when I’m editing, I add my thoughts and reviews.

Can you share any specific filming techniques or tips that you find effective while vlogging?

When it comes to filming, especially if you’re just starting, I believe that your phone is all that you need. It’s more about capturing things aesthetically with the right angles and keeping your hands steady. I’ve shifted to using an iPhone now because it helps with stabilizing motion, managing lighting, and getting those close-up shots, especially in 2x mode. I also bring along LED lights to ensure good lighting in darker places and during the nighttime. When shooting food content, it’s better if you focus on food rather than the background. Even if your phone is moving, make sure the focus on the food remains steady. For best results, shoot in natural light. Shooting in sunlight maximizes the wow factor of any shot.  

Is there a way to monetize food vlogging?

As of now, I haven’t started making money directly from my food vlogging channel. My current earnings come from brand promotions. However, if you’re looking to monetize your page, you can check the rules and guidelines on the platforms where you share your content. When it comes to featuring local places, I don’t charge them. I love to explore local cafes and help boost their business. But for small cafes and major brand promotions, I do charge a fee based on the collaboration.

In the age of Tik Tok and other numerous social media platforms, how strong and vibrant is the traditional media? There are reports from Nepal and other countries showing shifts in information consumption patterns, with people migrating to digital platforms. Researches have also shown that people don't read news in full and make their opinion based on headlines. In Nepal, we continue to hear issues of journalists not being paid for months, media houses slashing their staff, or stopping to produce print editions. More recently, there was news that said journalists, like other professionals, were migrating to other countries. Is the traditional media dying?

There was a time when becoming a reporter was my dream. Even though I was studying computer science, I found my passion lay not in coding but in writing. Eventually, I interned at a television and learnt the basics of reporting. I never knew that watching your own stories and listening to your voice could be so encouraging. With time, writing became a habit and sharing stories of people a culture. Fortunately, I was selected to study journalism in India and also got national and international experience in media. Social media had not penetrated general lives then so people were still following traditional media. People’s comments in person about my stories uplifted me.

In 2008, Nepal had many stories to cover—the Maoists had ended their armed rebellion, centuries’ old monarchy had exited, and a dream of new Nepal was envisioned by everyone. Nepali journalists were writing for international media. I was also one of them. I was among a few women journalists covering political news in Kathmandu. Although I was proud, I also realized that I needed to know the theories of political science and international relations to be a better journalist. So, I enrolled at the Tribhuvan University in the hope of being guided by the great professors on the subject. However, student politics had infiltrated so much that they would shut our classes down. Tired of the frequent class closures, I dropped out and later studied international affairs in the United States. I focused more on development and conflict than reporting. When I returned, I chose to give rest to my journalistic career. Nevertheless, I’ve continuously followed Nepali media and I must say it doesn’t have the same charm as it had even until ten years ago.  

As it was bound to happen, digital media have sprung up all over. Fewer people are buying newspapers to read news; even radio and television contents are now being migrated to the internet. The media business that thrived for so long on an ad-centric model is now facing challenges. Setopati has experimented by monetizing their content. It remains to be seen how successful that approach would be in Nepal.

On the other hand, those with language proficiency find jobs as public relations officers where they are better paid with wellbeing packages, medical insurance for the family, national and international exposure, and even have chances of landing international jobs. What about a career in journalism then?

A friend recently told me that she cannot convince her journalism students that they will have a great career in the media industry in Nepal. I think she is right. Many journalists that I know have either switched careers or have left the country for PhD programs. However, there are those who cannot quit the profession and tolerate the delayed salaries.

If there is a declining consumption of the traditional news contents and difficulties to manage resources, why should media continue with the same model of media business? If the media sector cannot be vibrant, neutral, and uplifting, it could even be a challenge to democracy. We have seen enough politically-biased online content. In order to bring traffic, clickbaits are used that can erode the trust of news consumers. Additionally, misinformation and disinformation, declining trust in journalism, information overload, and financial sustainability among others are serious challenges to journalism. It’s high time government and media stakeholders started efforts to prevent the slow death of journalism.

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City is to ban parking of vehicles on the roadside of the New Road area from today.

City Police Chief Rajunath Pandey said that the vehicles will be banned from parking on the roadside from Dharmapath, Juddhasalik to Indrachowk, Kichhapokhari, Mahaboudha and Bir Hospital areas.

According to him, arrangements have been made for free parking at the Kathmandu View Tower (then Old Bus Park) in Bagbazaar..

He said that 300 four-wheelers and 700 two-wheelers can be parked in the Kathmandu View Tower.

“We are planning to carry out a special cleaning campaign in those places by prohibiting vehicles from Parking from Tuesday,” he said, adding, “We are expecting that this will ease the movement of vehicles.”

Earlier, vehicles were prohibited from parking in Jhoche area.

Imported liquors worth Rs 40m, stored in a government godown, have expired in the lack of proper management.

Although liquors worth Rs 25m in the godown are fit for consumption, there has been no preparation to auction them off due to a lack of coordination among related agencies. Most of these liquors were imported from countries like France and Scotland without paying VAT and customs duty.

The liquors were purchased by National Trading Ltd—the state-owned trading company that is no longer in existence. The main objective of the company was to sell imported goods at reasonable prices to consumers. National Trading also used to sell goods at the duty-free shop of Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) as well as to different diplomatic missions. However, expensive liquors bought in foreign currencies have been languishing in godowns for the past 15 years.

Branded whiskies, rum, vodka, gin and beer worth $563,564 are languishing in its godown in Ramshah Path. These liquors are worth more than Rs 74.95m in current market prices. However, most of them have expired.

The government merged National Trading with Nepal Food Corporation to form Food Management and Trading Company (FMTC) four years ago. However, no initiative was taken for the management of these imported liquors after the merger.

“When the government decided to remove duty-free shops from TIA, National Trading was in the process of purchasing goods worth Rs 320-330m. These goods were being purchased by taking bank loans,” Binod Kapali, one of the security guards deputed at the godown, said.

The godowns contain 103,933 liters of liquors of different brands. Of them, 95,898 liters of liquor have passed their shelf life. The remaining 8,034 liters can still be sold in the market, according to staffers of FMTC.

Six godowns of National Trading, which are now under FMTC, are filled with imported liquor. While investments of tens of millions of rupees have gone in vain, FMTC is also losing rental income from the godown due to its inability to manage the liquors. FMTC has deputed two security guards at the godowns. They are provided a daily wage of Rs 725 each.

Rabi Singh Sainju, former joint secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies, said since there were many disputes with the then National Trading, the issue of what to do with these liquors also remained unsolved. "Regardless of the disputes, the concerned authorities should have already destroyed expired liquors and sold those fit for consumption," Sainju added.

Gajendra Thakur, a joint secretary who was transferred to the ministry recently, said he would work to resolve the matter at the earliest.

The godowns contain 15,009 bottles of whiskies, 8,641 bottles of brandy, and 60,600 units of canned beer. The beer cans were brought by paying $39,409. These liquors have already expired. Similarly, there are 1,327 bottles of champagne, 1,570 bottles of gin, 2,098 bottles of rum, 9,072 cherry liquors, 1,786 bottles of vodka, 18,508 bottles of wine, and 15,632 other liquors. Likewise, 129 packs of olive oil are also languishing in the godown.

Of them, 15,671 bottles of whisky, 8,609 bottles of brandy, 1,570 bottles of gin, 361 liters of rum, and 1,770 bottles of vodka are still fit for consumption. Most of these liquors are from popular brands like Beefeater, Gordon’s, Havana Club, Lamb’s, Negrita, Gautier, and Ballantine’s, among others.

Likewise, 2,119 cartons of cigarettes and tobacco and 129 packs of olive oil also need to be destroyed. Similarly, 3,725 units of nail polish, lipstick, bags, perfume, beauty cream, etc., have also expired. The procurement cost of these cosmetic products was $300,876.

Bim Bahadur Thapa, chief of the Sales and Distribution Department of FMTC, said these products cannot be destroyed immediately due to legal and environmental hurdles. “We are trying to find a solution,” he added.

Thapa said since most of these products were brought without paying customs duty, they will have to pay duty to the government if they are to be sold. “We will have to pay Rs 27.43m as duty for over 8,000 liters of liquor that are fit for consumption,” Thapa said. “Since these liquors are available at much lower rates in the market, it is becoming difficult to get rid of them.”