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The ongoing trend of people lining up for croissants, pizza, matcha, and other viral foodie obsessions continues to baffle editors searching for an explanation behind the longevity of the phenomenon.
The cronut, a croissant-doughnut hybrid from Manhattan chef Dominique Ansel that went viral in 2013, is often cited among the first culinary obsessions to have gone viral.
“Facebook, then Instagram, and now TikTok have flattened our IRL [in real life] experience into what's trending,” wrote Tim Marcin, a culture writer, in a column last fall for Mashable. “The internet's promise of expanding our respective worlds came true, but then, faced with that vast expanse, we (the royal, cultural We) retreated into the comfort of things people have already said are good. The lines followed.”
“The fetish of waiting in long lines in anticipation, being the first to eat something that’s trending, and posting about it for all to see is a thing,” wrote Ernest Owens, the former editor at Eater Philadelphia, in a column last year. “If it’s not your cup of tea, avoid the trap — but understand that it’s not going away anytime soon because capitalism is still prominently on the menu.”
Saturday Night Live recently lampooned the trend of waiting in a “big, dumb line” for tacos, bagels, frozen yogurt, and other items going viral on TikTok.
The trend comes as Waitwhile’s 2023 survey found nearly 67% of consumers felt impatient, bored, annoyed, frustrated, or disrespected when they had to wait in a line. However, a 2011 paper from professors at Cornell University and the University of Alabama found that waiting in line can "increase, rather than decrease, both purchase intentions and actual experienced satisfaction."
The more positive, viral-driven phenomenon of waiting in line is thought to be fueled by the social experience of hanging out with friends — and by younger consumers chasing a sense of status.
Astrid Kayembe, a culture writer for the Los Angeles Times, recently wrote, “In L.A., lines wield a transcendent power to reveal who we are, our desire to be seen and what we’re willing to do for them.”
A survey taken last December from The New Consumer and Coefficient Capital found that 60% of Gen Zers and 48% of millennials have stood in line for 30 minutes or more over the past year to eat a specific food or at a specific restaurant. That compares with 31% of Gen Xers and 14% of Boomers. However, among all respondents who did so, 92% said it was worth it and 74% said they'd do it again.
"There's a performative element to this," Dan Frommer, publisher of The New Consumer, told Axios. "You do it for the 'gram, and also to be part of some sort of cultural moment."