Chipotle is Customer Driven, Fresh Prepared, and Delivering Success

When customers speak, industry leading companies listen.  When you have a consumer focused interactive participatory brand like Chipotle that listens to consumers a big part of the ‘better for you’ halo around the brand is listening to consumers. 

Chipotle’s halo of ‘better for you’ uses a simple formula. A Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant stocks just 68 ingredients to prepare everything on its menu. Those simple 68 ‘better for you’ ingredients have driven Chipotle’s average unit volumes to $2.5 million, a $500,000 increase from three years ago.

This week Chipotle announced a new strategic alliance with  San Francisco-based startup Postmates. The New York Times notes that Chipotle will offer delivery in each of the 67 markets where Postmates is now operating.

Here is where the listening comes in Postmates was already delivering Chipotle items to its users, but now the companies are officially working together. Re/code reported that Postmates delivered $500,000 worth of Chipotle orders in Q1 of 2015 before the partnership was announced this week.

Chipotle already offers a way to order-ahead on its site and mobile app for an in-store pickup. The company also put out an Apple Watch app just to keep pace with its customers.

In our Omni-channel retail environment developing new grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-n-Eat points of distribution is important.  With Postmates Chipotle is expanding points of distribution while meeting customer expectations. 

As important as customers are Chipotle respect for and development of  its employees is worthy of note. Chipotle understands taking care of your employees is important, last year Chipotle promoted 10,500 employees who started as hourly crewmembers into management positions. Success does leave clues. 

Are you interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions 5P’s of Food Marketing can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization?  Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit:  www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information.