Chipotle is one of the most popular Mexican-style fast food chain restaurants. They sell taco, burrito, bowls, salads and corn chips. The ingredients are fresh and healthy, and people can watch how their food are really cooked from the transparent window. I always order the chicken bowl and burrito when I visit there.
Recently I saw a lovely Chipotle animated ad was named“A Love Story”. One of my friends shared it on the Facebook. The ad talks about a little boy runs an orange juice stand, but many people are waiting for the fresh lemonade which is from a lemonade stand owned by a little girl across the street.
The little boy wants to date with this little girl, but he has no money. The only way to make his dream come true is to raise the money. Thus, he starts to post orange juice ad fliers in the neighborhood. Later on, he gets more business come in, but it hurts the girl’s business. The girl gets angry and starts to compete with the boy all the time until their small juice stands turn into fancy fast food restaurants.
Both of them look success, but they are not happy at all. When they drink their juices, they taste awful. Then, they check their factories and see all the burgers and foods are produced by the machine. They have not tasted fresh anymore. This is not what they want to sell, so they try to stop the machine. However, the machine throws them out to the trash.
These poor man and woman meet again on the street with dirty clothes. They found their old promotion fliers which were made when they were kids. It reminds them their original intention. The boy wants to date with this girl, and they want to sell fresh juice! That’s all they want! At the end, they are fall in love and start their small business to make fresh meals.
Afterthought:
This ad is a lovely and happy ending story. From the ad, we can see the main selling point of Chipotle is freshness. Their food is unlike other fast food like burgers which are tasted greasy.
After I watch this ad, my biggest question is: Are burger businesses really the direct competitors with Chipotle?
From the food freshness point, burger businesses could be competitors with Chipotle. Most people perceive burgers are not healthy food. Chipotle offers fresh ingredients which are healthy and nutritious.
However, I never think Chipotle’s major competitors are burger businesses such as McDonald or Burger King. The reasons are:
1. Their businesses are totally in different styles.
McDonald is the classic American-style restaurant, but Chipotle is the Mexican-style restaurant. Their businesses are not the same kind of style, so they should not compare with each other.
2. Their food is totally different.
McDonald offers all kinds of burgers and potato fries. The hamburgers are round which contains bread, beef patties, lettuces, onions, cheese and special sauce. However, Chipotle offers all kinds of Mexico food such as tacos, burrito, corn chips and rice bowl. They are made in different shapes. And, their main ingredients are rice, beans, lettuces, peppers, steaks, and chicken. Thus, I don’t think they are selling the same kind of food at all.
3. Their major target customers may be different.
Even though both McDonald and Chipotle are targeting everyone, their major target customers still have some differences. According toMcDonald’s website, they said they seek to appeal to a wide range of people, from families who love our Happy Meal to workers grabbing breakfast on-the-go or eating in to enjoy our freshly ground coffee and free WiFi.
According to the Chipotle target audience research, Chipotle has targeted millennial who are people between the ages of 23 to 36 for its primary customer segment. This target customer group tends to pursue a healthy lifestyle, so they are more likely to choose fresh food.
McDonald can be one of the substitutes of Chipotle, but it should not be the major competitor of Chipotle. The direct competitors of Chipotle should be Taco Bell, Fields Good Chicken, and other Mexican-style fast food restaurants which produce similar food.
