Investing in digital and catering
Digital, delivery, and catering all provide a new chance for Chipotle to boost sales.
Chipotle delivery sales increased 33% in the last quarter, and catering grew 14%. Digital orders also exploded, growing 51% since the chain implemented "Smarter Pickup Times" earlier this year.
Improving customer experience
Improving guest experience has been one of Chipotle's major focuses as the company attempts a turnaround.
Last December, Ells said he'd give roughly half of Chipotle's roughly 2,100 locations a C grade for service because of flaws like messy soda stations, dirty tables, and slow-moving lines. In January, Chipotle announced it was retooling its training program.
Adding new menu items
"Unlike nearly every other fast-food company, Chipotle rarely adds new items," CEO Steve Ells said Tuesday.
However, he said that this was changing. With the new test kitchen in Manhattan, Chipotle has been semi-publicly testing items including frozen margaritas, new salad dressings, and — prior to its national launch — queso.
Ells and other executives hinted that queso may just be the beginning of new menu innovation, even mentioning new "day parts" — which likely means a breakfast menu test is on the horizon.
UBS supports the new approach to menu innovation, with Geiger writing that it is a "shift in philosophy that we're in favor of to avoid menu fatigue, but execution is critical."
Source: Business Insider India