Brief:
- Chipotle Mexican Grill is offering free, healthier food to mobile customers to help them keep their New Year's resolutions around improved eating habits, per details the company shared with Mobile Marketer. The burrito chain's campaign comes as "Quitter's Day" looms on Jan. 19 — which is when many people give up on their resolutions, according to athletic social app Strava.
- Chipotle throughout January is posting codes on Twitter that people can redeem for free Lifestyle Bowls, which have a mix of salad greens and other healthy ingredients. The chain this month is offering free delivery on Lifestyle Bowls when people place orders through the app.
- The month-long promotion follows the expansion of Chipotle's Lifestyle Bowls lineup to include a "supergreens" salad mix and Whole30-compliant chicken.
Insight:
Chipotle's free food and delivery promotions aim to build on its momentum for its Lifestyle Bowls menu item, which last year helped the company to reach $1 billion in digital sales last year, per an announcement. As people lose the will to maintain stricter diet and exercise plans that are among the most popular New Year's resolutions, Chipotle is touting the healthier menu items on social media to reach a target audience of young adults.
The promotion is latest example of Chipotle leveraging social media to drive delivery orders. Last month, Chipotle gave Twitter users a chance to win free delivery on any product — not just food from its restaurants — with its "Free Delivery Interception" offer timed with the college football championship season. Chipotle also gave away free food to Instagram users who were fast enough to respond to its short-lived offers that it posted to the image-sharing app.
Chipotle's latest promotion aimed at mobile users follows past efforts to highlight food delivery as more customers demand convenience from restaurants. The percentage of U.S. consumers who have ordered from a food delivery app grew to 25% in 2019 from 19% a year earlier, per researcher Second Measure. It's key for restaurants like Chipotle to reach mobile consumers as soon as they tap on a food-delivery app like Uber Eats or Doordash. About half (54%) of people who use delivery services start with a specific restaurant in mind when they open an app, leaving 46% who are looking for inspiration, per a study by restaurant supplier US Foods.
