Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) first opened its restaurant in 1993. The company’s concept of Mexican fast food made from fresh ingredients and customers being in line to pick toppings were still new and unheard of. Weirdly enough, people seem to accept and love it. Since its first opening, the company’s business has gone skyrocket and became an instant hit in the market. The success of the company was possible mainly for these two reasons - the company’s rapid growth rate as well as McDonald’s Corporation decision to invest in the company which resulted in more than 500 CMG units opened in 2005. After operating for 13 years since its first founding, CMG was able to go public (IPO) in 2006, a great feat for any company to make considering the
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However, the company has to not only compete with competitors from its own segment, but also from the rest of the three major segments - full service and fast food. CMG’s two main competitors are Qdoba and Taco Bell. Like CMG, Qdoba operates in the fast casual industry and prioritizes quality of their food as well - from picking the freshest of ingredients to preparing a quality taste of their food. Taco Bell, on the other hand, operates in the fast food industry, which offers cheaper prices than fast casual and as of 2012, began to test its new menu “Cantina Bell” targeting the less price sensitive consumers and rivals the quality ingredients that of casual fast food industry, such as CMG. Both of these companies are major threats as they are operating in a similar manner as CMG while offering similar types of food and quality with competitive …show more content…
Due to their higher food cost than the average competitors’, CMG chose to rationalize in other areas such as smaller restaurant sizes in comparison to normal fast food chains and the limited menu option it offers. The company had reduced its advertising cost for three consecutive years since 2009 from $7.9 million to $5.8 million in 2011 which was resulted from CMG’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Mark Crumpacker, decision to avoid advertisements through traditional media and let the brand markets itself through people’s experiences. Besides costs, cutting, CMG also able to stand out from its competitors as it holds onto their “Food with Integrity” mission of only accepting high quality products from suppliers who understand its mission. As the result, most of CMG’s meats and vegetables are naturally raised and grown. This way, CMG still able to operate and compete with others while still able to maintain its promise of quality
However, the company has to not only compete with competitors from its own segment, but also from the rest of the three major segments - full service and fast food. CMG’s two main competitors are Qdoba and Taco Bell. Like CMG, Qdoba operates in the fast casual industry and prioritizes quality of their food as well - from picking the freshest of ingredients to preparing a quality taste of their food. Taco Bell, on the other hand, operates in the fast food industry, which offers cheaper prices than fast casual and as of 2012, began to test its new menu “Cantina Bell” targeting the less price sensitive consumers and rivals the quality ingredients that of casual fast food industry, such as CMG. Both of these companies are major threats as they are operating in a similar manner as CMG while offering similar types of food and quality with competitive …show more content…
Due to their higher food cost than the average competitors’, CMG chose to rationalize in other areas such as smaller restaurant sizes in comparison to normal fast food chains and the limited menu option it offers. The company had reduced its advertising cost for three consecutive years since 2009 from $7.9 million to $5.8 million in 2011 which was resulted from CMG’s Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Mark Crumpacker, decision to avoid advertisements through traditional media and let the brand markets itself through people’s experiences. Besides costs, cutting, CMG also able to stand out from its competitors as it holds onto their “Food with Integrity” mission of only accepting high quality products from suppliers who understand its mission. As the result, most of CMG’s meats and vegetables are naturally raised and grown. This way, CMG still able to operate and compete with others while still able to maintain its promise of quality