Guests concerned about protein portion sizes in their Chipotle bowls or burritos will now have the chance to scoop their own.
Chipotle on Tuesday is launching a new way to order designed to feed four to six people for small group occasions, whether around the family table, at the office or anywhere else.
The “Build-Your-Own” Chipotle option is a digital exclusive designed to feed a small group with a customizable spread of ingredients that can be ready for pickup in as little as 15 minutes.
With the options, guests can make bowls, burritos or even loaded nachos, however they want to do it.
Each order includes the option of chicken, steak, braised beef barbacoa, carnitas or Sofritas.
With that comes a choice of rice (white or brown), beans (black or pinto) and premium side (queso or guac).
It also comes with the choice of three salsas or toppings, shredded romaine and cheese, two large bags of chips, eight soft taco tortillas and forks, napkins and bowls for six people.
Guests can also add on other large sides or chips as a separate item.
“For the first time ever, guests can use our digital ordering channels, the Chipotle app and Chipotle.com, to bring a personalized Chipotle makeline to their kitchen with just a few taps,” said Curt Garner, Chipotle’s president, chief strategy and technology officer, in a statement. “This is an innovation that brings people together around the food they love.”
The move evokes a pandemic-era pivot many chains used during the COVID-19 shutdown: offering family meals to go. But in this case, it’s designed to appeal to groups looking for value.
Prices vary by market, but the national average price by protein is $59 for chicken or Sofritas; $65 for carnitas; and $70 for steak or braised beef barbacoa.
That’s a good deal, if you factor in the premium guacamole or Queso Blanco, which, of course, is extra.
The average price for a Chipotle chicken bowl is $10.68, but if you add $2.95 for guac (the price varies by market), that’s $13.63. So six of those bowls, ordered individually with chips, would be more than $81.
That makes the Build Your Own option a much better deal, especially given the customizable options. Guests can even put chips into their burritos, for example, to add crunch.
For a limited time, Chipotle is offering $10 off the first Build-Your-Own order with the code TRYBYOC, starting Tuesday through Oct. 21 or until 500,000 redemptions, whichever comes first.
Build Your Own is also designed to draw attention to catering, available for 10 or more, and the group order feature on Chipotle’s app, which includes a shareable link for friends and family to add their meal and submit as one all-inclusive pickup or delivery order.
Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright said in July that the fast-casual chain plans to test a new catering platform in 60 restaurants this fall.
The test incorporates the chain’s ongoing kitchen equipment modernization effort, as well as new technology to “load-balance” orders across restaurants, and a marketing push to drive demand into catering, he said.
Boatwright said, “Our goal is to scale the catering business within our restaurants without disrupting the core operations. With catering at just about 1% to 2% of sales, versus our peers who are at 5% to 10%, we think this could be a big opportunity longer term.”
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