Dive Brief:

• Chipotle is capitalizing on the craze around collectible trading cards with a gamified Roblox promotion tied to Cinco de Mayo, according to a press release.
• Ingredient Quest, which launches within the restaurant’s existing Burrito Builder experience on May 5, sets players on the hunt for 53 virtual cards, each representing a different Chipotle ingredient. Those who accrue the full collection first can receive an offer for a free entree from the Mexican chain. 
• From May 1-5, Chipotle is also nixing delivery fees with a special code, “Deliver,” for orders placed through its app or website. The brand continues to expand its work on Roblox, which has become a popular destination for Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers and a viable channel to strengthen sales and loyalty.  

Dive Insight:

Chipotle says Ingredient Quest and the larger promotional blitz represent its biggest effort yet around Cinco de Mayo. The fast-casual chain has become a regular on Roblox, leveraging the youth-oriented gaming platform as a channel to dole out rewards, launch new menu items and even debut advertising creative.

Ingredient Quest is inspired by the renaissance for nostalgic trading card collecting, where consumers have started buying up brands like Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering in droves and filming social media reaction videos of their “pulls,” or when they rip open a fresh pack and uncover an especially desirable card. Pull videos can rack up millions of views as people chase the vicarious rush of these discoveries. Demand for trading cards has also left store shelves barren while bolstering the resale market and the grading companies that assess the condition and value of rare finds. 

Chipotle is translating the concept into the virtual realm by allowing players to exchange in-game currency earned from Burrito Builder, an existing game, for packs of five ingredient cards (they will receive five cards at the start as well). Eight additional ingredient cards are hidden around the Roblox world, adding a scavenger hunt component to the experience. 

To make Ingredient Quest more competitive, Chipotle is also giving the first 50,000 players to collect the full set of 53 cards a free entree offer. Beyond the promise of rewards, Chipotle is touting the promotion as a tool to educate Gen Z consumers about its responsibly sourced ingredients, part of a long-standing brand positioning around using “real food.” 

Discussing Q1 earnings last week, Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright said the brand would “meaningfully ramp up our marketing spend” beginning in May and through the summer season, including through increases in activity around digital, social and rewards. The chief executive added that summer has tended to be a softer sales period in recent years, making marketing a more important tool to drive traffic.

The QSR saw same-store sales, an important measure of restaurant health, decline 0.4% over the opening stretch of the year, the first such drop since 2020 and a sign that macroeconomic volatility stemming from tariffs is affecting consumer choices.