Trendy Foods: the Bandwagon Effect

At Aragon, students are commonly seen sipping bubble tea drinks from T-Pumps, and friends are often found swarming around the lucky student eating an In-N-Out burger for lunch. The growing popularity in these kinds of foods can largely be due to what is termed the bandwagon effect.

When people “jump on the bandwagon,” they go along with what others do or think, and eventually more and more people adopt this idea or behavior. In the case of trendy foods from T-Pumps or In-N-Out, bandwagoning may play a role in their popularity.

History teacher Ron Berggren uses an example to describe the bandwagon effect in general trends. “Think of the Steve Jobs effect,” he says. “He tied technology with good-looking products.”

According to Berggren, the food industry isn’t that different. “The image of In-N-Out versus McDonalds is cooler and appeals to older people. McDonalds has happy meals and toys for kids, but In-N-Out doesn’t. No teenager is going to want to go to McDonalds with a little brother or little sister, and especially not with parents,” he says.

The home economics teacher at Aragon, Sue Hontalas, explains that people’s culinary tastes tend to be influenced by a variety of things. “It’s really a mixture of advertisements, culture, and the peer. A student will learn something from a culture and tell his peers about it,” she says. In this way, food trends easily spread by word of mouth.

Such is the case with bubble tea drinks, which are commonly found in many places in downtown San Mateo, such as Quicklys, Teaway, and T-Pumps. These “pearls” are small, chewy balls of tapioca starch that are placed in various fruit-flavored teas, slushies, or milk.

Out of these similar providers, T-Pumps has risen the quickest in popularity. Senior Amy Jiang remembers her first time trying T-Pumps after eventually being convinced by her friend. “The whole summer my friend was raving about the cheap prices for quality drinks,” she says.

Senior Christina Hsu also likes T-Pumps for specific reasons. “It is new, delicious, and unlike Quicklys or Teaway, the owner is always there trying to make his store better than it already is! You can tell he really cares about his customers,” she explains.

For T-Pumps, its popularity has risen by word of mouth and a dedicated customer base. Although T-Pumps may be popular because of the bandwagon effect, it is also popular because it serves quality food and displays quality service.

However, In-N-Out has mixed reviews. One factor that makes In-N-Out so desirable is its local rarity. Unlike McDonald’s, In-N-Out has only a few locations in the peninsula despite it being a chain restaurant. Freshman Eric Kamikihara, a fan of In-N-Out, says, “If I do get a chance to go there I do, but it’s not that often.”

Junior Celina Vasquez describes her first experience trying out In-N-Out burgers. “I went because I was with my friends, and because I had never actually gone inside, they invited me…that was also when I discovered they had a secret menu,” she exclaims. In Vasquez’s case, she tried In-N-Out mainly because she was influenced by her friends, who enjoy In-N-Out’s unique taste and special secret menu.

Despite In-N-Out’s reputation, many believe its popularity does not reflect its quality. Junior Brigitta Lynn describes the first time her family brought home burgers from In-N-Out. She says, “Even though people say it’s not as greasy as normal fast food, it’s still greasy and it drips.”

Lynn believes that the In-N-Out appearance is deceiving. “People like the idea and the look of it. Plus it doesn’t have the controversy of McDonald’s,” she clarifies.

In all cases, the powerful bandwagon effect is essential for food trends to exist. Even in trends that aren’t food related, American society can easily be influenced by the majority. Evidently, particular industries, such as those in food or electronics, notice the items that appeal to the masses most and encourage the progressive trends.

Sophomore Jonathan Staryuk sums up the prevailing influence of the bandwagon effect on modern day society. He says, “One person can get a whole group of friends to try something, and it just snowballs from there.”