Chipotle's Esports 'Challenger Series' a Bright Spot in a Sport-less Conundrum

Americans love to watch sports live on TV and at a time that live sports has disappeared Chipotle Mexican Grill has stepped up to the plate and hit a home run so to speak with Esports at chipotlechallengerseries.com  according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.                   

Stepping up to the plate for the first time, Chipotle is hosting its Challenger Series online and giving Esports fans the opportunity to compete against their favorite gaming and celebrity personalities to win $25,000 and free Chipotle for a year. Ok, I know many of you don’t think that Esports is a sport but don’t tell the millions watching live or playing on line.

So, Chipotle understands that we are in a period of physical distancing not ‘social distancing”. They will make a matching prize pool donation of $25,000 towards the winner’s choice of charities supporting the ongoing global crisis. The 2020 Chipotle Challenger Series officially kicked off on April 16th and is part of the brand’s larger movement to encourage social interaction during these unprecedented times.

The first tournament will be a Call of Duty Warzone Challenge, featuring it’s new “Quads” format. For those of you who don’t know there are over 100 MILLION people who play Call of Duty.  This is a great brand relevant move by Chipotle according to Johnson.

Chipotle continues to add new talent to an already star-studded lineup of celebrity participants, including: basketball stars Gordon Hayward and top hoops draft pick Tre Jones, baseball stars Cody Bellinger and Joey Gallo, fan-favorite streamers TimTheTatMan and GoldGlove, actor Cameron Fuller, music producer Sven Thomas, and athlete Demi Bagby. To elevate the viewing experience for fans, former professional gamer Chris Puckett will be shoutcasting the live broadcast of the competition.

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® 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 us on our social media sites by clicking the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter