Chipotle Mexican Grill Case Analysis

The age old debate: is Chipotle or Qdoba the better fast food Mexican restaurant? Of course, one could choose from many pros and cons for either side, but my goal was to dig down into the debate. Which restaurant has a better atmosphere? Which one has better ingredients? Are there more options at one than another? Which restaurant gives it’s customer more bang for their buck? Although I may be biased because I work at Qdoba, I’ve thoroughly researched each restaurant and come to a conclusion. Each restaurant brings many different options to the table, but in the end Qdoba is far superior to Chipotle in many ways.

2. What does a SWOT analysis of Panera Bread reveal about the overall attractiveness of its situation?

This paper will explain how consumer behavior would affect Chipotle’s marketing strategies if the company wants to enter to Spanish market. It will analyze possible consumer behavior issues and Spanish market background, suggesting along the potential marketing implications. Nevertheless, predictions and suggestions made in this paper may need further market researches to be verified.

This paper explores the mission, vision, values and principles of Chipotle Mexican Grill that guide them in the restaurant industry. Their key mission, vision, and values revolve around providing food with integrity and changing the way people think about and eat fast food. Chipotle’s principles include sticking to the basics of a simple menu and uncomplicated, interactive employee roles.

The Chipotle Mexican Grille opened its first store in 1993 beginning a new category in the restaurant industry known as “fast casual” (About Us, 2014). This new category featured the “highest quality raw ingredients, classic cooking methods, and distinctive interior design-features that are more frequently found in the world of fine dining.” However, aside from the normally long wait in lines, an order could be taken and served in only a couple minutes. Currently Chipotle operates more than 1,500 restaurants internationally. The following pages will present a balanced approach to the effectiveness of Chipotle’s strategy analyzing financial performance, customer satisfaction, employee/learning and growth, and internal process.

Chipotle ventured into a new territory when it was created, as it had an innovative vision for fast-casual restaurants. By using fresh and quality ingredients, Chipotle raised the bar in their segment. The service line where customers could see their order being prepared enhanced the experience of Chipotle. Consumers who were used to eating at fast-casual restaurants where the food was frozen and made out of sight were able to savor the uniqueness of Chipotle. These differences helped Chipotle become successful. However, as competitors copy the traits that make Chipotle unique, Chipotle must adapt and overcome in order to remain a profitable company.

Chipotle, on the other hand, “seems to have created a sustainable branding strategy that leverages its good food, humorous ads, distinctive interior design, and in-store world music” (Wikinvest.com, 2010). The company is positioned to capitalize on their organic and farm raised food, and high quality ingredients. “According to the organic Trade Association (OTA), organic food sales are growing at a 20% clip annually in the US, although such food only accounts for 3% of all food and beverage sales” (Wikinvest.com, 2010). Chipotle is also positioned to tap multiple markets: baby boomers who can afford to dine out, Hispanics, two income families who do not have time to cook, and the socially conscious consumer.

In this paper I will compare my favorite restaurant, Olive Garden, to its most direct competition which in this case is Milestones Bar and Grill. These two restaurants are in competition because they target the same market and are located within one block of each other. Each restaurant is owned by one of top restaurant companies in North America. Olive Garden is owned by Darden Restaurants which also owns Red Lobster, Smokey Bones, Bahama Breeze, Longhorn Steakhouse, and Seasons 52. Cara Operations Ltd. is the owner of the Milestones chain as well as Montana's, Swiss Chalet, Coza, Kelsey's, and several others. Although there are several other restaurants within the same area as the two I have chosen, I

1b) What advantages are there to not franchise the restaurants? Do you think they ought to franchise restaurants down the road? What advantage would that be for the company?

Chipotle’s strategy is focus on the selected menu that they can provide best to the customers. Also, differentiate with other fast food restaurant such as Taco bell. Chipotle’s competitive advantage is related with the differentiation. They are in the fast-food market, but offer fresh, local produced ingredient and no hormones added to their meat and other dairy products. Therefore, customers who seek integrity, they will go to Chipotle for Mexican fast food.

Competitors in the states just to name a few would be Moes southwest grill , Taco bell , and Baja Fresh mexican grill these food chains compete in many ways from the menu , prices and location. Foreign competitors in australia would be Izole Mexican ,Barrio chino and cantina mobil though these are all different forms of mexican style restaurants they all share the high demand for mexican cuisines . The competitive advantage that makes chipotle such a great investment is there business plan which requires them to incorporate the speed of a fast food industry by having high quality products , even though these mexican grills target the same customers chipotle stays above the others with their strategic strategies that differentiate the food ; Oppose to the competitors all of their food contains natural ingredients which is one of the major reasons why chipotle has such a high growth rate which allows them to

Management is the backbone of any good company. In order for a company to successful, a strong management team is needed in order to meet goals in an effective and efficient manner. Chipotle opened its doors in 1993 when Steve Ells took a chance and began his business in San Francisco. Chipotle is a chain of Mexican restaurants that is based in Denver. Chipotle is often cited as the company that started the fast casual movement where customers can get a healthy prepared meal quicker than other traditional styled restaurant. The fast casual restaurant concept was well received and Chipotle’s popularity expanded all across the United States. Customers could not get enough of the Mexican chain and massive lines could be seen stretching outside the stores all across the country. Along with its popular food, Chipotle Mexican Style Grill is a company that contains a successful management style. Why? What sets this companies management apart from the rest? There are many factors that we could analyze to understand the success of Chipotle, yet for the purpose of this paper, we will look into the cooperate culture of the company, human resource management, their leadership style, and how Chipotle deals with and how the company manages in times of crisis.

As Chipotle began to grow and expand, Steve took the initiative to learn about the way most of the food in the US is produced and processed. He was quite disturbed when he discovered that pigs were raised in confinement, produce was grown on factory farms with very little respect for the environment and dairy cows were confined and injected with hormones (Ells). This experience prompted Steve to meet with ranchers and

Fast food company’s pride themselves on making orders and food in a timely fashion as well as providing high quality food and an atmosphere for all, but what happens when a huge crisis happens and it ends in lawsuits. In this article, I will discuss Taco Bell’s 2006 E. coli crisis and how it came to be a crisis for the company. Next I will discuss some of the actions Taco Bell took to manage the crisis once it escalated and how the company approached to handle the crisis. In other words, did they do it great or poorly. Lastly, I will discuss how certain theories relate to this E. coli disaster that affected dozens of people and hurt business.

The company I have chosen to base my assignment on is Taco Bell. It is a leading Mexican style fast-food chain serving tacos, burritos, signature quesadillas, Border Bowls®, nachos and other specialty items. Currently, Taco Bell serves more than 35million consumers each week in approximately 5,600 restaurants in the United States of America. It is recognized as the best Mexican fast-food chains in the United States of America (Yum! Brands, 2010). This fast-food chain plans on introducing its products in Malaysia.