Taking the lead from a major competitor isn’t always the greatest idea. However, when it comes to certain things, it would be just plain silly not to.
Look at McDonald’s (MCD), it is the largest fast-food chain in the world. McDonald’s isn’t known for healthy food, but for fast and tasty food. On the other hand, Chipotle offers something different, so its market base while being similar is still very different. While Chipotle (CMG) isn’t serving up burgers, it can capitalize on similar business strategies that can be easily copied.
Chipotle offers up the ability for customers to order items full of meat, vegetables, vegan, keto, paleo, and Whole30 menu options. While satisfying all these different diet needs, Chipotle does it for a relatively low price and quickly, keeping it in the fast-food category.
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Chipotle is Cooking Famous Favorites
Chipotle may have taken an idea from McDonald’s, which is offering Cardi B and Offset meal combos, and will be offering menu items that are the Fittest Man and Woman on Earth’s go to meals at the Mexican fast-food restaurant.
Instead of ordering the Cardi B combo from McDonald’s, diners can trek on over to Chipotle and order the Justin Mederios or Tia-Clair Toomey meals. Mederios’ meal is a salad bowl with Supergreens salad mix, extra white rice, black beans, double chicken, tomatillo green-chili salsa, queso blanco and guac. Toomey’s go to order is a bowl with white rice, black beans, barbacoa, fresh tomato salsa, cheese, guac and lettuce. Customers can order the specials on the Chipotle App and on the website, and it will have a zero-dollar delivery fee for orders placed between Feb. 20 and Feb. 26.
“Having the 2022 Fittest Man and Woman on Earth be Chipotle superfans is a testament to the nutritional benefits of real food,” said Stephanie Perdue, Chipotle’s vice president of Brand Marketing. “Through this new partnership, we hope to expand Chipotle’s influence in the CrossFit community and introduce new fans to our delicious and customizable menu.”
When Chipotle signed up to sponsor the NOBULL CrossFit Games Open, it was creating a new partnership that would expose the brands healthy choice options.
“CrossFit athletes, no matter what level, are always looking for healthy options full of protein and nutrients to help advance their fitness journeys, and we’re excited about this new partnership with Chipotle for this year’s NOBULL CrossFit Games Open,” said Rob Vartan, vice president of Global Partnerships for CrossFit. “Aligning our brand with one that’s beloved by millions throughout the world will allow us to reach new audiences and hopefully new athletes looking to improve their health through fitness.”
Included in the new partnership, Chipotle will offer new specials that go along with the CrossFit Games. Athletes that place in the top of their individual divisions at the CrossFit Open test 23.2 will receive free Chipotle for a year.
Not Chipotle's First Time Either
When McDonald's launched the BTS meal combo in 2021 in conjunction with the worldwide South Korean pop group BTS, it proved to be widely successful for McDonald's. When McDonald's does something successful, you can bet that others will follow.
Chipotle didn't go the worldwide boy band pop stars route but stuck more to its roots. Chipotle went on to offer famous athletes' favorite menu items as special bowls. Customers could order the Jagger Eaton Burrito, which was steak, white rice, black beans, tomatillo red-chili and roasted chili-corn salsa, cheese guac, and romaine lettuce. Jagger Eaton is an American professional skateboarder.
The marketing to the larger audience at the NOBULL CrossFit Games will broaden the customer base for Chipotle. When most people think about eating healthy, fast-food rarely comes to mind. Chipotle wants to remind those who are super focused on healthy choices, that there are healthy choices out there when you are on the go.
