Chipotle Case Study Essay

Chipotle, on the other hand, “seems to have created a sustainable branding strategy that leverages its good food, humorous ads, distinctive interior design, and in-store world music” (Wikinvest.com, 2010). The company is positioned to capitalize on their organic and farm raised food, and high quality ingredients. “According to the organic Trade Association (OTA), organic food sales are growing at a 20% clip annually in the US, although such food only accounts for 3% of all food and beverage sales” (Wikinvest.com, 2010). Chipotle is also positioned to tap multiple markets: baby boomers who can afford to dine out, Hispanics, two income families who do not have time to cook, and the socially conscious consumer.

Two Mexican restaurants; Chipotle and Qudoba. People say both taste great but many people choose one versus the other. Working at Chipotle, I get a lot of pros and cons about Qudoba and Chipotle. Some people don’t like that our guacamole isn’t free. People always say “why don’t you be like Qudoba and have your guacamole free?” and I always tell them “our guacamole is organic, handmade. I would know because I make the guacamole.” Chipotle is a better place to eat because our food is handmade and organic. Our vision statement is “to change the way people think about fast food and to create an environment empowered by top performers who achieve high standards” (Moran)

Being that this restaurant style was so unique and they were very successful in a short amount of time they faced challenges, failed and still tries to maintain their originality by remaining competitive. Success in CMG Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. no doubly started off as a successful company. CEO and founder, Steven Ells cultivated this successful company in 1993 when he opened a taqueria in Denver, Colorado using borrowed capital from his father (Pearce & Robinson, 2015.

This paper explores the mission, vision, values and principles of Chipotle Mexican Grill that guide them in the restaurant industry. Their key mission, vision, and values revolve around providing food with integrity and changing the way people think about and eat fast food. Chipotle’s principles include sticking to the basics of a simple menu and uncomplicated, interactive employee roles.

The Chipotle Mexican Grille opened its first store in 1993 beginning a new category in the restaurant industry known as “fast casual” (About Us, 2014). This new category featured the “highest quality raw ingredients, classic cooking methods, and distinctive interior design-features that are more frequently found in the world of fine dining.” However, aside from the normally long wait in lines, an order could be taken and served in only a couple minutes. Currently Chipotle operates more than 1,500 restaurants internationally. The following pages will present a balanced approach to the effectiveness of Chipotle’s strategy analyzing financial performance, customer satisfaction, employee/learning and growth, and internal process.

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. is a “fast-food service restaurant” under limited service category. It was formed in 1993 and went public in 2006. It has the largest market share in the Mexican-type food segment with a net income of more than

Chipotle first opened in Denver in 1993 with a simple idea behind it, “food served fast didn’t have to be “fast-food” experience”, (Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2015). Prior to CEO Steve Ellis opening the restaurant chain, he himself was a chef. Since its creation, Chipotle has become a phenomenon in the restaurant industry and has experienced tremendous growth since it went public in 2006 with over 1,600 restaurants in Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, and France, with the majority located in the United States (Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2015).

The purpose of this new product expansion is to increase sales primarily. Increasing sales is very important for Chipotle and these new products can help raise revenues significantly. The project deliverables include the introduction of the project, and the implementation of the project both in the United States and then other

The purpose of this report is to present a strategic plan created for Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (CMG). The strategic planning process began with an internal analysis to better understand Chipotle’s current mission and vision statement, and its effectiveness in leading current strategy and performance, and included analysis of Chipotle’s strengths and weaknesses, and trending financial position. External environment analysis was also conducted, to better understand the industry and its competitors. Results of the internal and external analysis were used to determine strategies for maintaining a competitive advantage. Recommendations and an action plan for strategy implementation are suggested, as well as, an evaluation plan

Chipotle is a fast casual dining establishment that serves Mexican cuisine, specializing in burritos and tacos. Like other fast casual restaurants, it does not offer full table service, but promises a higher quality of food with fewer frozen or processed ingredients than fast food restaurants. In fact, Chipotle is widely known for its mission to only use organic ingredients and

CMO Mark Crumpacker stated, fast-food marketing typically is a game of trying to obscure the truth; The more people know about fast-food, the less interest they’d want to be a customer. Chipotle’s mission statement “Food with Integrity” reflects its focus on fresh ingredients; great food with a socially responsible message made them one of the first organic oriented fast-food restaurant

In order to meet the customers’ satisfaction to a greater extent, Chipotle cannot confine itself to provide the limited variety of food items for customers to choose. Therefore, product development (Kuesten, 2006) should be taken for Chipotle through introducing more kinds of food for the same materials or purchasing some more new materials. According to the company’s mission, the new products ought to be fast-casual, Mexican style food, using fresh ingredients. For instance, Nachos, Quesadillas, soups, and sandwiches are good choices that are hot sold in substitute restaurants. The new products can create extra value for the original food provided by the company, and increase the consumer utility.

Chipotle’s case study illustrated CMG’s design on their restaurants which includes environmentally friendly building materials and systems that make their restaurants more efficient (Subramanian, 2013). The trend continues in 2015, where CMG has been reducing their energy usage in a few of their restaurants and plan to expand their energy management program to an additional 100 restaurants (Chipotle Mexican Grill 2015 Annual Report, 2016).

Chipotle Mexican Grill is a key competitor as a Mexican Food Company. Chipotle owns a total of over 1600 restaurants as of 2013. These restaurants are located in five countries that include; the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. Chipotle has a strong presence in delivering a product that uses quality ingredients. The use of natural and quality ingredients has gained Chipotle a strong brand presence and strong customer loyalty. Chipotle has continued growing every year, both in size and sales. Chipotle’s green and innovative buildings serve to promote their commitment to being environmentally friendly. Chipotle currently offers their food both in restaurants and in some locations ordering online is available. Chipotle can continue capitalizing on their success by continuing to expand their restaurants, the addition of new menu items and continue to market towards the health conscious market.

One of the success drivers of Chipotle is their emphasis on simplicity and high quality through their vision of Food with Integrity, where they claim to use the best ingredients that are sustainably grown and raised responsibly. Coupled with the overall social trend of more conscious food consumers seeking for healthier options, Chipotle’s offering seems like the perfect formula for growth.