Dive Brief:

• Chipotle is partnering with fitness app Strava to offer several customized route segments and a challenge starting today (Jan. 2), according to information provided by the company.
• Chipotle segments — portions of roads and trails where Strava users can enter into friendly competitions — can be found in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, Denver and Columbus, Ohio. Each segment ends at a Chipotle location. The individual in each city that completes each segment the most will receive free Chipotle Lifestyle Bowls for a year.
• Chipotle says it is the first QSR brand to offer customized challenges on Strava. The tie-up runs throughout the month of January, a time typically associated with consumers committing to living healthier lifestyles, and will be supported with a series of promotions.

Dive Insight:

After the holiday period of indulgence, it should come as no surprise that half of all consumers are expected to resolve to lose weight in the New Year, and nearly as many (47%) will vow to exercise more. By combining its Lifestyle Bowls with the Strava tie-in, Chipotle is looking to capture the attention of these consumers. 

According to a Chipotle internal survey, nearly 70% of the brand’s consumers who are runners say they are likely or very likely to eat Chipotle after training for a race. To that end, the company is offering frequency challenges to reward consumers with free Lifestyle Bowls, which can be created to fit a variety of diets, for completing the segments that end at Chipotle restaurants.

Consumers who take on the late-month challenge of logging at least 20 minutes of activity twice per week between Jan. 15 and 28 will receive free guacamole. Other offers include a free Lifestyle Bowl for Chipotle Rewards members with the purchase of a bowl on Jan. 12, also known as Quitters Day. Chipotle will also sponsor a streak-based challenge on the Strava app between Jan. 15 and 31 and offer free delivery on Lifestyle Bowls orders made via the web or the company’s app throughout the month.

The promotion follows a tack Chipotle took last New Year’s when it launched the Lifestyle Bowls, in which the company created a Snapchat Lens that included meditation prompts and exercises. Where last year’s promotion launched in the middle of the month as consumers’ dedication to resolutions wavered, this year’s partnership is launching in time to capture the fervor that comes with the excitement of starting the new year on a positive note.