Chipotle Claims Customers Are 'Really Excited' About New Larger Portion Sizes
After facing a social media firestorm earlier this year over its reportedly lackluster portions, Chipotle began taking steps to reclaim its reputation for serving generously sized burritos and bowls. According to a new company update, those efforts are already paying off.
In July, former Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol (who has since taken on the chief executive role at Starbucks) announced that the company had assessed all of its restaurants "with the intention to always serve our guests delicious, fresh, custom burritos and bowls with generous portions."
Employees at Chipotle locations with "outlier portion scores" were then retrained to ensure they were serving correct, consistent portions to guests, Niccol said at the time. Additionally, Chipotle stressed the importance of providing generous portions across all of its restaurants.
During an Oct. 29 investor call, interim CEO Scott Boatwright revealed that customers are already noticing the improvements.
"We are committed to ensuring that we give the right portion to every guest that walks into the building. We've seen strong improvement, even through our social channels," he said. Boatwright added that they've seen customers post about big burritos and bowls and get "really excited about [the] portioning they're getting in the Chipotle brand."
Chipotle kicked off these efforts in response to a growing barrage of criticism against its food and dining experience. The chain once lauded for its fresh ingredients, approachable prices, customization potential, and—perhaps above all—massive portions had in recent years shed this stellar reputation as customers claimed quality has become inconsistent, the prices higher, and the portions much stingier.
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These criticisms only intensified in 2024 as scores of customers took to social media to show off petite Chipotle burritos and meagerly portioned bowls. Thoughout all the backlash, Chipotle has maintained that it never instructed its employees to dish up smaller portions. However, Niccol revealed in July that the feedback had spurred the company to reevaluate its restaurants and coach workers at certain stores to ensure proper portioning.
During this week's earnings call, Boatwright said he's pleased with the headway Chipotle has been making in this initiative.
"We know we're making great progress. We know we're delivering value for the consumer, especially in this really tight environment. And we'll continue to lean into that."
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