The iPad Kid Phenomenon
Redefining Family Dinners in the Digital Age from Compromise to Customization
Virtual food courts will lead to increasing food-app deliveries for family dinners because they present the lowest friction solution to individualized satisfaction. Families will elect to order from such food courts instead of going out because of the “iPad Kid” case: A phenomenon in which a group elects the path of ease and pacification instead of high-effort resolution and compromise.
First, what are virtual food halls? Operated by brands such as Kitopi in the Middle East, Rebel Foods in India, and Byte Kitchens in Northern California, virtual food halls are ghost kitchens that produce for a number of different restaurants. That’s to say between five and seventy completely unique brands are operated and distributed out of a single two thousand square foot kitchen. One brand might be Shake Shack while another other is a one-off sushi spot. Critically, however, both the ShackBurger and the Spicy Tuna Roll can be delivered in one DoorDash order. On-app, the items are presented as though they are coming from the same restaurant because, in effect, they are - or at least the same kitchen. The result is thousands of food items from dozens of different cuisines made available for delivery to a consumer’s house in under thirty minutes.
Now, what is the “iPad Kid”? To model the phenomenon requires the creation of a hypothetical family of four: parents, an older daughter, and a younger son. It’s Friday night and this family’s in the car headed to dinner. The son lights the match. “Mom, I want to play on my iPad.” Mom is faced with two options: let the young man enjoy his Flappy Bird or the option she chooses. “I’ve said no five times today. N-O spells NO.” This young man isn’t too pleased, and he fights back. Mom and son go back-and-forth, back-and-forth in a dance well-practiced but never perfected. A quick capitulation. Junior makes Level 5 in Flappy Bird before they reach the restaurant.
This encounter embodies a classic intra-family dynamic: differing preferences that lead to the path of temporary least resistance. If the son doesn’t get his iPad - four parties are discontent. Dad is mad because he was distracted while driving. Mom is irritated because her son tells her “she stinks”. The older sister is upset because she now has to deal with her pouting brother, and her pouting brother is upset for self-evident reasons. But he does get the iPad under the settling stipulation that it's only for the car ride.
No strangers to compromise, this family went through a similar back-and-forth when deciding where they would go eat on that Friday night. Dad wanted a burger and a beer after a week of work, the older sister wanted to try a trendy new Asian fusion place, and so on. The case of the “iPad Kid” took hold, however, and they settled on the same place they go every Friday. Each is pacified but not satisfied.
A virtual food hall, had it been available during this pre-car ride discussion, would have been the optimal outcome. Providing expansive optionality, the food hall enables each member of the family to get exactly what they want. Friction is non-existent. They each just pass the phone to select the restaurant of their preference. There’s no argument and there’s no settling. Mom doesn’t have to order a black-bean burger that she doesn’t really like because it's the only semi-healthy menu item. Junior doesn’t have to eat a quesadilla when he really wants nuggets. Those weren’t bad options but they weren’t great either. Everyone settled so they would all be ok.
One potential drawback is the element of “cohesion”. It’s easy to imagine a parent saying “We’re all eating from one place because we’re eating as a family”. The concept of “one place” needs to be re-evaluated here. If all the food items come in a bag with one logo, are they really from different places? They’re from the same kitchen after all.
The event of “going out” as a family will fade to an occasion, for whenever it starts to feel like a chore, someone will take out their phone and ask “virtual food hall?”. “Virtual food hall!!” everyone will exclaim in ascension and DoorDash’s CEO will see the order counter on his desk click. Plus one.