Annoying to prepare? It uses roughly the same proportion water as rice and it cooks in half the time (compared to brown rice which takes the longest to prepare). What's the problem otherwise?
It is comparable to white rice in preparation time and comparable to brown rice in flavor and nutrition. As someone raised on lots of rice at the dinner table, I think it puts rice to shame.
No, it is not truly a simple substitute to a sophisticated foody, there are positives and negatives, of course.
And it is pricier. Let's not kid ourselves. Most of us to actually cook at home are saving so much money relative to typical American eaters, that the price point is completely irrelevant. If you not eating 20 home cooked meals a week, do not talk me about price. (Yes, I do eat 20 home cooked meals some weeks.)
Some people seem very impressed with themselves for dismissing quinoa as trendy. But I know food well enough to decide for myself, and quinoa is a very attractive addition to my pantry.
Maybe a worse analogy is its like getting a live chicken, vs a shrink wrap boneless skinless tray at the supermarket, vs getting mcnuggets at the drive thru, its all marketed as "chicken" but it matters a lot what kind you buy.
There's probably a startup lesson in here. Life would be a lot more consistent if the quinoa guys never sold processed, for example. It might be less convenient but at least it would be consistent, and inconsistency means confused unhappy users. Consistently PITA sells better than inconsistently PITA.