Strategic Planning : Chipotle Mexican Grill

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 Mexican Grill, Incorporated is a restaurant that offers Mexican food including burritos, tacos, burrito bowls (a burrito without the tortilla), salads, and more. The company has been in operations since 1993, starting out as one unit and growing to 1,300 units in over 46 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, and the United Kingdom in 2011. The restaurant served fast-casual food with a customizable menu. The restaurant prides itself on serving food made from scratch with wholesome, organic ingredients (Chipotle, 2016). Chipotle is a restaurant in the fast-casual dining industry, focusing on food sourced from sustainable farming practices including meat product that is responsibly raised in humane ways

This article is about how Chipotle was with a federal grand jury subpoena due to a connection with norovirus in a Simi Valley restaurant. There was outbreak of the norovirus and/or E. coli; thus causing many of the chain restaurants to temporarily shut down. Nearly a month after they reopened those restaurants almost 150 college students had a norovirus after eating Chipotle. Which in result is causing the FDA to use criminal sections on these food safety outbreaks.

Primarily, the article’s purpose is to announce Chipotle’s philosophy that will enhance their corporation, thereby, boosting the economy. Chipotle believes that by providing more gainful incentives i.e. educational assistance, paid leave, and the potential to earn a six figure salary to their employees will reduce the high employee turn-over rate that the fast food industry encounters (Jargon, 2015). Furthermore, change the way that the fast food industry has been viewed. The strategy is to transform the fast food experience into a “fast-casual,” dining experience (Boone & Kurtz, 2014) by providing a more urbane atmosphere and employing individuals that are well educated to maintain such an atmosphere. The article states that thus far the industry

Chipotle’s business strategy is affected by the strength of rivalry as their demand is slowly declining in the face the e-Coli breakout in their restaurant chain and their format is imitated by competitors (Elizabethtown College, 2014). To remain sustainable in the fast casual market, analysis of current trends including growing customer concerns about what they eat and how it is prepared must remain their fundamental focus in the years ahead. Chipotle must continue to provide a unquie dinning experience as well using classic cooking techniques and high quality ingredients, aligning their commitment to “Food with Integity”. Their biggest hurdle to overcome will align with customer trust in the face of the food safety incidents that negitively

The article from the New York Times blog states that the Chipotle begun the food delivery service in April 2015. Postmates, Chipotle’s first official delivery partner, provides the service. This service covers over 67 cities in the United States. Customers only need to pay the delivery fee that starts from $4.99 to $7.99 according to the distance. Chipotle's chief marketing and development officer Mark Crumpacker indicated that there was a 30% month-over-month growth in Chipotle, since the start of Postmates’ delivery service provided.

Hello I'm Khachik, I'm a 16 year old high school graduate who would like to know the reason I was rejected at my local Chipotle I'm no regular 16-year-old I worked hard to finish school at 16 and am working harder to further my life into a stable state the General Manager at my local store was really impressed on my background and she even said she hasn't seen a 16 year old like me also stating she hasn't talked to someone as "interesting" as me in around 5-6 years (her words not mine) that was on September 9th during Chipotles Career Day honestly I just really want to know why I was rejected if she liked me I could personally say I'm more qualified than most of the other candidates because she said some other people who she interviewed didn't

Chipotle Mexican Grill opened in 1993 by Steve Ells serving burritos with fresh made ingredients, which later became an American chain of fast casual food. Similarly, Chili’s opened on March 13, 1975 by Larry Lavine in Dallas Texas, selling several types of hamburgers at low-cost. In 1983, Levine sold the company to Norman E. Brinker, formally with the Pillsbury restaurant group. As well as Chipotle Chili’s has survived against competition by implementing new ways to differentiate.

The employees of Chipotle spend hours preparing the food at each location so it can be ready for customers in seconds. While there may be many people waiting to order, the assembly line fashion of adding ingredients to each customer’s specialized order allows for Chipotle crew members to serve up to 300 people per hour (Chipotle, 2011, p. 4).

After performing Step 1 of their turnaround game plan (which was to give away free food), Chipotle is ready to take the next step.

Chipotle have their set of core competencies, which includes: A focused menu which could be customized by a customer, good employee training that results to good customer service, being able to utilize fair-trade meats and organic vegetables, and creating a restaurant where the kitchen is design for efficient operations and where employees can easily interact with customers.

Chipotle first opened in Denver in 1993 with a simple idea behind it, “food served fast didn’t have to be “fast-food” experience”, (Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2015). Prior to CEO Steve Ellis opening the restaurant chain, he himself was a chef. Since its creation, Chipotle has become a phenomenon in the restaurant industry and has experienced tremendous growth since it went public in 2006 with over 1,600 restaurants in Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, and France, with the majority located in the United States (Chipotle Mexican Grill, 2015).

The fast food, or quick service restaurant industry (QSR), represents approximately 200,000 restaurants and $155 billion in sales in the U.S. alone, they are one of the largest segments of the food industry (Hoovers, 2011). This segment of the restaurant industry is “highly competitive and fragmented… number, size and strength of competitors vary by region, market and even restaurant. All of these restaurants compete based on a number of factors, including taste, quality, speed of service, price and value, name recognition, restaurant location, customer service and the ambience and condition of each restaurant” (Chipotle, 2010).

I am writing this request to review the paper I have completed for franchise guidelines for Chipotle Mexican launch in Oman market. I have highlighted the major issues in form of Porter five forces and marketing mix as planning. Financial planning is also highlighted. Kindly provide your esteemed suggestions to guide me.

Commitment and involvement- the team should be able to understand the goals and should be committed in achieving them