Amy Peters
Chipotle
Dessert Flops
Chipotle
Mexican Grill’s plan to add a dessert to their menu has now been put on hold
due to poor customer reviews at their test kitchen site in New York City.
The fried tortilla dessert is just one of many of the dishes coming out of
their test kitchen site in the hopes of adding some new, fresh dishes to their
menu. Ever since their E. coli outbreak back in 2015 the company has struggled
to regain sales, with other food safety issues and hacker problems plaguing the
chain recently as well. Their founder Steve Ells announced that he will be
stepping down this November in the hopes that a new leader can head this
turnaround. Their brand image has been incredibly tarnished from what it once
was, with it starting as an innovative and popular take on fast casual dining,
but as this market has become so saturated, I argue Chipotle has lost its edge.
I believe launching a new menu is the wrong approach to take, as its simple
menu is what made them famous initially, and they should be focusing more on food
safety and employee training, but this might be Chipotle’s last cry for help.
5 comments:
Looking at Chipotle's financial statements, the company did not maintain a profitable position comparing with previous years. And their R&D expenses were still increasing based on their 2016 income statement.
I agree with you Amy, I don't think adding dessert is a solution to their struggling comeback. Their recent addition of queso also seemed to have poor reviews. However, I hope for all the Chipotle lovers out there they find a way to regain their reputation.
I agree with you that this is no way to back a resurgence campaign to turnaround the floundering company but I would argue that new menu items have been a significant marketing campaign in the fast food industry for the past few quarters. I would point to Starbucks's multiple initiatives with their limited time offers that have sparked social media interest around the country. The tortilla desserts may not be the right menu item to spark this sort of interest but I would say that new menu items do have significant impacts on the brand's image.
Chipotle is just getting desperate at this point. After all the recent health concerns that have been going along with their food they needed to try and do something to fix it. But I do not think dessert was the answer in anyway.
I think advertising focused on regaining customer's trust would be a better approach than adding a new dessert. Three years ago when Maggie was banned in India due to high MSG levels, it was reintroduced in the market with an assurance of improved quality after a year.This advertising strategy helped the company to regain its customers.
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