Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) is a market leader in the fast-casual dining sector and faces five main rivals. They include Qdoba Mexican Eats, Moe's Southwest Grill, Baja Fresh Mexican Grill, and Rubio's Coastal Grill. Chipotle also competes on a less head-to-head basis against Taco Bell, the market leader in the Mexican-style fast-food sector.
Competition became more intense when the industry experienced unprecedented challenges during the 2020 crisis. Companies in the restaurant chain business continue to compete on several different levels. These factors include menus, dining experience, innovation, and prices as well as size, geographic reach, established reputation, and attractiveness to investors. Chipotle's rivals use various approaches to pursue their growth.
Key Takeaways
Chipotle has expanded rapidly due to the growing demand for Mexican food and the increasing preference for fast-casual dining.
Qdoba Mexican Eats, Moe's Southwest Grill, Baja Fresh Mexican Grill, and Rubio's Coastal Grill are Chipotle's main competitors.
Although it is fast-food-oriented rather than fast-casual, Taco Bell has also started to compete with Chipotle by improving the quality of its food.
Before diving into the details on its competitors, it helps to know more about Chipotle. Like other fast-casual restaurant chains, Chipotle tries to combine the convenience and low price of fast-food eateries with higher-quality dishes and a more appealing environment. Meals are typically somewhat pricier than at a fast-food restaurant. The food is also prepared on the spot using healthier ingredients, such as fresh vegetables, poultry, and meat products.
As of 1998, five years after its establishment, Chipotle only ran 16 restaurants, all situated in Colorado. That same year, fast-food behemoth McDonald's Corporation (MCD) became a major investor. By 2006, when McDonald's completed a divestiture from Chipotle, the Mexican-style dining chain had mushroomed to 500 locations. By 2021, the publicly traded Chipotle owned and operated over 2,700 restaurants.
Qdoba Mexican Eats
Qdoba operated and franchised eateries in over 700 locations in 2021. As a large Mexican fast-casual restaurant chain, it is one of Chipotle's most significant competitors. A major difference is that about half Qdoba's restaurants were franchises in 2019. After 15 years of expansion under the ownership of fast-food giant Jack in the Box (JACK), Qdoba was sold to Apollo Global Management in 2018. Apollo's other restaurant holdings included Chuck E. Cheese’s and Peter Piper Pizza.
Moe's Southwest Grill
Moe's Southwest Grill, which is owned by Focus Brands, had more than 700 restaurants in 2021, mostly located east of the Mississippi River. Moe's Southwest Grill restaurants attempt to differentiate themselves with a fun and offbeat environment. They feature menu items named after TV and movie stars. Focus Brands emphasizes franchising. As of early 2020, their other brands included Auntie Anne's, Carvel, Cinnabon, Jamba, McAlister's Deli, Schlotzsky's, and Seattle's Best Coffee.
Baja Fresh Mexican Grill
MTY Food Group is a company that operates or franchises Baja Fresh Mexican Grill, while also overseeing La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill. Baja Fresh Mexican Grill introduced a new restaurant design in 2013, along with a revamped menu that places a bigger emphasis on food flavor and freshness. When MTY acquired Baja Fresh Mexican Grill in 2016, the restaurant had 162 locations. Its subsidiary, La Salsa Fresh Mexican Grill, had 23 locations at that time.
Rubio's Coastal Grill
Chipotle is not the oldest Mexican-style fast-casual dining chain. In fact, Rubio's started ten years earlier. However, Rubio's has not attained the same geographic footprint as Chipotle. Although Rubio's is mostly based in the West, they expanded into Florida during 2019. Privately owned, Rubio's runs establishments in over 200 locations.
In 2010, Rubio's went private through a merger with a subsidiary of Mill Road Capital. Rubio's is now trying to set itself apart from Chipotle and other competitors by unveiling new fresh fish items and giving some of its California restaurants a beach-like look.
Taco Bell
Chipotle is still dwarfed in size by fast-food giant Taco Bell, which had over 7,000 locations in 2020. However, traditional fast-food chains are not growing nearly as fast as the fast-casual segment. On the other hand, Taco Bell has made changes to keep up with shifts in consumer preferences. They introduced a Fresco menu featuring healthier fare and also improved the quality of their ingredients during the last decade. Taco Bell is owned by Yum! Brands (YUM), the worldwide leader in fast-food chains. Yum! Brands also owns Pizza Hut and KFC.
The Bottom Line
Chipotle has been one of the most dynamic growth companies in the restaurant industry during the early 21st century. Chipotle taps into the rising influence of Hispanic culture in America and the nation's growing appetite for fast-casual dining. After initially crashing in response to the crisis, Chipotle's stock rallied to new highs after gaining more than 100% in just two months.
However, Chipotle does not have a monopoly on fast-casual Mexican food. It must face close competitors, such as Qdoba Mexican Eats and Moe's Southwest Grill. For investors, the key consideration might be the structure of the business. Chipotle owns almost all its restaurants. That makes it a more volatile and aggressive play for investors in the stock market. However, those who want to open a franchise need to look to competitors.
Baja Fresh is an American chain of fast-casual Tex Mex restaurants founded in Newbury Park, California in 1990 and headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona and is owned by Canadian franchisor MTY Food Group. The chain emphasizes fresh ingredients, each restaurant featuring a self-serve salsa bar.
, and Rubio's Coastal Grill are Chipotle's main competitors. Although it is fast-food-oriented rather than fast-casual, Taco Bell has also started to compete with Chipotle by improving the quality of its food.
Pizza Hut is owned by NPC International, the largest franchisee of Yum Brands. NPC operates more than 1,200 Pizza Huts. It has expanded to become the largest pizza chain with over 7,000 restaurants worldwide. Pizza Hut is one of the top Chipotle competitors.
Differentiate your product: Chipotle has set itself a step ahead of the competition by catering to customers concerned about sustainability. According to Ells, Chipotle buys more antibiotic-free and vegetarian-fed meat than any other restaurant in the world. As a result, Ells says Chipotle's meat tastes better.
Chipotle Mexican Grill, inc. is a public company headquartered in California with an estimated 96,443 employees. In the US, the company has a notable market share in at least one industry: Fast Food Restaurants, where they account for an estimated 0.2% of total industry revenue.
Qdoba Mexican Eats, Moe's Southwest Grill, Baja Fresh Mexican Grill, and Rubio's Coastal Grill are Chipotle's main competitors. Although it is fast-food-oriented rather than fast-casual, Taco Bell has also started to compete with Chipotle by improving the quality of its food.
Ancho chili powder (a Mexican spice) is made up of poblano peppers. As a result, it has many things in common with the chipotle powder. You can also consider it to be the closest substitute to chipotle.
Fast-casual restaurants are also close competitors, with names like Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), and Panera Bread Company. Starbucks (SBUX) is a specialty quick-service brand that has some offerings that overlap with McDonald's.
Chipotle's motto of “food with integrity” was inspired by what founder Steve Ells learned about American food production. Ells became committed to serving food that was ethically and naturally produced, which Chipotle claims results in meat that is tastier than what other restaurants serve.
Chipotle has a business strategy of setting themselves apart from their competitors by having a differentiated strategy, like unique brand and food. Their slogan is “food with integrity” and they pride themselves on this. They want to be known as the healthy fast casual alternative.
Running great restaurants with great hospitality and throughput;Being disciplined and focused to enhance the company's powerful economic model; and. Building a great supporting culture as Chipotle innovates and executes across digital, access, menu and the restaurant experience.
If you just so happen to follow Chipotle on Twitter, you may have noticed its handle change to "Chicotle." That's not a typo, we promise. It is the result of one mega-famous Korean pop star, Jungkook from BTS, mispronouncing the brand's name recently.
Chipotle Mexican Grill has tapped ASAP.com, a national on-demand delivery brand, to help the nearly 3,000-unit restaurant chain expand its delivery service.
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., June 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) announced today that it is partnering with Grubhub, the nation's leading pickup and delivery marketplace with the largest network of restaurant partners, to expand its delivery footprint in the U.S. Chipotle and Grubhub have ...
The ideal target market of Chipotle is millennials, college students, and younger professionals aged 18-28. Many of these people consider cooking as a hobby and will make a majority of their meals from their own kitchen, specifically using fresh and healthy food.
By analyzing calorie counts, sodium level and overall nutrients in a basic entree, you may realize Chipotle may not be the best option when compared against other fast-food heavyweights, such as McDonald's. The main problem when eating at Chipotle comes with sodium intake.
Chipotle Mexican Grill is launching a spinoff restaurant, Farmesa, that will serve up customizable bowls focusing on healthier foods, the fast-casual chain announced Wednesday.
Chipotle is one of the healthier fast-food joints: they use fresh ingredients with no processed or artificial additives. That's pretty impressive for a restaurant chain of their size. But even though Chipotle's ingredients are better than most, you can still rack up the calories on a typical order.
McDonald's Corporation is the largest fast-food chain. As of 2022, Starbucks is the largest restaurant company by revenue, with 35,000 stores globally. Yum! Brands is based in China and is the largest quick-service restaurant company in the world, with more than 53,000 restaurants in 155 countries.
Direct competitors are other fast food businesses such as McDonalds, Starbucks, Subway, Taco Bell, Chick-Fil-A, Wendy's, Burger King, KFC, Sonic, Arby's, etc. Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren't direct competitors.
Chick-fil-A main competitors are Zax LLC, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and Jack in the Box. Competitor Summary. See how Chick-fil-A compares to its main competitors: KFC has the most employees (820,000).
Chipotle delivers on the very things that matter most to consumers: it serves flavorful food made with fresh, healthy ingredients, quickly, at palatable prices. If that isn't enough, it allows (or dare I say encourages) customers to customize their meal, so that they get exactly what they want.
Shares of Chipotle surged Wednesday to their highest price ever following an eye-popping earnings report for the restaurant, as the burrito peddler joins the likes of the world's largest fast-food chain in relishing profits after passing inflationary costs onto consumers.
Strong brand recognition: Chipotle has established itself as a popular and recognizable brand in fast-casual dining. ...
Simple, customizable menu: Chipotle's menu is intentionally simple, allowing for easy customization and ensuring that customers can tailor their meals to their preferences.
Lieberman says Chipotle's goal for its presence on TikTok is to establish a genuine, real personality. With this platform in particular, the brand can show customers what goes on behind the scenes in stores with videos, adding in playful music for a dash of humor.
We believe that food has the power to change the world
Chipotle was born of the radical belief that there is a connection between how food is raised and prepared, and how it tastes. Real is better. Better for You, Better for People, Better for Our Planet.
In order to reward and empower its best employees, Chipotle started a unique training program called the Restaurateur Program in 2005. The Restaurateur Program identified and promoted the best people from within and gave talented workers a clear path to advancement within the company.
Steve Ells (born September 12, 1966) is an American businessman. He is the founder, former CEO, and former Executive Chairman of Chipotle Mexican Grill. Ells founded Chipotle in 1993, and under his direction, the chain serves what it describes as "naturally raised meat" and promotes sustainable agriculture.
Chipotle is a Mexican-inspired restaurant concept but, if what you're asking is if it is authentic Mexican, then the answer is NO. Flavor profiles are closer to traditional Tex-Mex food with heavy use of cumin.
Back in 1998, Chipotle was only a 14-restaurant chain, mostly in the Denver, CO area. In order for Ells to supercharge expansion of his promising fast casual concept, he needed money. That cash infusion came in the form of an investment from fast food king McDonald's.
31, Chipotle posted revenue of $2.2 billion, good for an 11.2% year-over-year increase. Same-store sales, a key metric for any retail-based business, rose 5.6% from Q4 2021.
Founded in 2011 by Elise and Rick Wetzel of Wetzel's Pretzels, Blaze Pizza was modeled after Chipotle's made-to-order approach to serving customers. Basketball player LeBron James is one of the original investors in the chain.
Chipotle adds a deliciously smoky heat to any dish, making it the perfect companion for chicken, beef, salmon and tofu. These spicy dinners are tempered with sweeter ingredients, like honey and orange, for a flavorful meal that will have you going back for seconds.
McDonald's does not own Chipotle. McDonald's Corporation became a major investor in 1998, but McDonald's fully divested itself from Chipotle in 2006. Chipotle is a chain of fast casual restaurants in the United States that make Mission burritos, tacos, and bowls in front of the customer.
They're both revolutionizing marketing on TikTok, popular with the Gen Z crowd, and as of March 10, they have a collaboration together! I'm talking, of course, about e.l.f. Cosmetics and Chipotle and their new collab that will have both makeup mavens and Chipotle fans hungry for these limited-edition products.
Chick-fil-A main competitors are Zax LLC, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and Jack in the Box. Competitor Summary. See how Chick-fil-A compares to its main competitors: KFC has the most employees (820,000).
A large, dried, smoked jalapeno, the Chipotle is also known as a chile ahumado or chile meco. Tan to coffee brown in color, the Chipotle is veined, ridged and measures 2-4 inches long and 1 inch across. Producing a subtle, deep heat, Chipotles are used widely in Mexican and Latin cuisine.
Being part of the Chipotle crew means learning the skills to grow as a person and a leader. Nurturing the growth of our people is a large part of our mission to cultivate a better world.
The ideal target market of Chipotle is millennials, college students, and younger professionals aged 18-28. Many of these people consider cooking as a hobby and will make a majority of their meals from their own kitchen, specifically using fresh and healthy food.
Taco Bell main competitors are Rubio's Restaurants, Chipotle Mexican Grill, and Jack in the Box. Competitor Summary. See how Taco Bell compares to its main competitors: KFC has the most employees (820,000).
Team Member. Focused on giving each customer a great experience, restaurant Team Members can offer service and hospitality everywhere in the restaurant, including front and back of house and in the drive-thru.
Franchisees spend their time and resources to build the Chick-fil-A brand and continue the incredible legacy that began with our founder, Truett Cathy.
Address: Suite 369 9754 Roberts Pines, West Benitaburgh, NM 69180-7958
Phone: +522993866487
Job: Sales Executive
Hobby: Worldbuilding, Shopping, Quilting, Cooking, Homebrewing, Leather crafting, Pet
Introduction: My name is Golda Nolan II, I am a thoughtful, clever, cute, jolly, brave, powerful, splendid person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
