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Food and Drink
Alina Selyukh, NPR

Chipotle is ‘re-emphasizing generous portions’ after social-media complaints

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A customer pays for their food at a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in Austin, Texas. Chipotle says its portion sizes have not shrunk, despite complaints shared on social media.
A customer pays for their food at a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in Austin, Texas. Chipotle says its portion sizes have not shrunk, despite complaints shared on social media.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images North America

No, Chipotle’s servings have not shrunk as TikTokkers have suggested. But yes, Chipotle is reminding its workers to give customers big scoops.

That’s how the chain’s CEO began his address to shareholders on Wednesday, referring to “portion concerns” from a recent swirl of videos and Reddit posts that allege that Chipotle workers are skimping on fillings for its normally hefty burritos and bowls.

“There was never a directive to provide less to our customers,” Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol told investors in prepared remarks. “With that said, getting the feedback caused us to relook at our execution across our entire system with the intention to always serve our guests delicious, fresh custom burritos and bowls with generous portions.”

Chipotle has assessed its 3,500 restaurants to focus on those where consumer services delivered “outlier portion scores,” Niccol said. The company is bringing more “training and coaching” to those locations to make sure its bowls and burritos are consistently correct in size.

“We have also leaned in and re-emphasized generous portions across all of our restaurants, as it is a core brand equity of Chipotle,” he said. “It always has been, and it always will be.”

This comes a month after the CEO drew side-eyes for his earlier attempt to address the smaller-portion accusations, in which he denied the idea but also suggested that people could get “a little more rice or ... a little more pico” with a slight nod and a knowing look at the worker fixing the meal.

Overall, the company on Wednesday reported an 11 percent increase in sales during the latest quarter, with higher profits attributed to stores running faster and more efficiently plus the popularity of its limited-time chicken al pastor.

The chain had raised prices in recent years, and executives on Wednesday said they have “no plans” for further hikes this year.

Copyright 2024, NPR