Key facts
- FoodNeverComes offers a simulated food ordering experience with 22 kitchens and 327 dishes.
- The site has attracted over 2.7 million visitors since its launch in June.
- FoodNeverComes aims to provide the psychological 'dopamine hit' of ordering without actual consumption or payment.
- The concept is part of a growing trend of 'dopamine sites' that mimic consumption rituals.
- Founders Purvansh Parmar and Anshul Sharma developed the site and its associated AI-generated calls.
- A second site, TripNeverLeaves, allows users to plan virtual holidays.
Two Indian software developers, Purvansh Parmar and Anshul Sharma, have created a new genre of internet sites known as 'dopamine sites' that allow users to engage in the rituals of online shopping and food ordering without any actual consumption or payment. Their flagship site, FoodNeverComes, launched in June, simulates the experience of ordering from 22 different cuisines and 327 dishes, complete with fake prices, a simulated checkout process, and even AI-generated calls from a fictional delivery rider.
Since its inception, FoodNeverComes has attracted over 2.7 million visitors. The site's slogan, "The food never comes - but the dopamine does," highlights its purpose: to provide the psychological thrill and 'wanting' associated with consumption, rather than the actual 'liking' or possession of goods. Parmar and Sharma developed the concept based on their own online shopping habits, where they would fill virtual carts with items they desired but never purchased.
Experts like Ravi Dhar, director of the Yale Center for Customer Insights, refer to this phenomenon as "anticipatory utility," where the pleasure of looking forward to something can be more potent than the experience of having it. Neuroscientist Kent Berridge distinguishes between 'wanting' (driven by dopamine) and 'liking,' suggesting that these sites might activate the former. Addiction psychiatrist Dr. Anna Lembke notes that while these sites might offer a temporary release, they could potentially reinforce addictive neural pathways, though admitting that self-awareness of a problem is a first step toward recovery.
The founders have expanded the concept beyond food with TripNeverLeaves, a site that allows users to plan virtual holidays. They believe that the ritual of ordering, often triggered by boredom or anxiety, can become associated with a dopamine hit, leading to a craving for the act itself rather than the product.