Company Overview:
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. is a chain of restaurants in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany, specializing in burritos and tacos.

Its name derives from chipotle, the Mexican Spanish name for a smoked and dried jalapeño chili pepper.
Chipotle is one of the first chains of fast casual dining establishments.

With more than 1400 locations in 43 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., three Canadian provinces, the United Kingdom, and France, Chipotle had a net income in 2012 of US$278 million and a staff of 37,310 employees.

Mission Statement :
Food with Integrity -
This mission statement highlights its efforts in using organic ingredients, and serves more naturally raised meat than any other restaurant chain.

Company's vision :
Change the way people think about and eat fast food.

History:
Founder Steve Ells attended the Culinary Institute of America at New York and then went into the restaurant business working at Stars restaurant in San Francisco where he observed the popularity of tacos and burritos. Chioptle has approximately 750,000 customers per day.
1993 - Ells opened his first Chipotle in Denver, Colorado, in a former Dolly Madison Ice Cream Store near the University campus using an $85,000 loan from his father. They both figured that to stay in profit, they would need to sell 107 burritos per day. After a month, the store was selling over 1,000 burritos a day. The cash inflow was good.

1995 - Ells opened a second store using the cash inflow from the original store and third using SBA loan. To help the growth of the company, Ells father invested 1.5 million.
Over a period of time, Ells officially created a board of directors and business plan to help expand his business.

1996 – Open five more Denver area restaurants

1998 – Chipotle bring on outside investors.
McDonalds made an initial investment in the company. This helped company to expand to 16 restaurants.

1999 - Ells opened couple restaurants outside of Denver, Colorado. These restaurants were opened in
Columbus, Ohio and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

2005 – Company had expanded to over 500 restaurants and provided the ability to order online

2006 – Chipotle goes public on NYSE.
January 26, Chipotle made is initial public offering (IPO). In its first day of of public company, the stock of the company rose exactly 100%. This money from the offering was used to fund to expand the business. This year in October, McDonalds fully divested from Chipotle as a part of initiative by McDonalds to focus on core business chain.
McDonalds invested 360 million into Chipotle and took out 1.5 billion.

2009 - Chipotle released an app for the iPhone that allows users to find nearby Chipotle locations, place an order, and prepay with a credit card

2010 – Chipotle expands to Europe with restaurant opened in London

2011 – Chipotle opens ShopHouse Southeast Asian Grill in Washington D.C. Here the company tried to venture into new cuisine inspired by Thai, Malaysian and Vietnamese keeping the service format of Chipotle and focus on ‘Food with Integrity’ in ingredients.

2012 – Chipotle opens in Paris, France
1430 restaurants have since opened throughout the United States and Canada, with locations in 43 states, Ontario, British Columbia, and the District of Columbia.

Company's success in 2012:
• Opened 183 restaurants. Revenue grew by 20.3% to $2.73 billion, where as comparable restaurant sales growth was 7.1% for the year

• Restaurant-level margins were among the highest in the industry at 27.1%.

Chipotle rolls out expansion, marketing plans for 2013:
• Plans to grow more aggressively in other countries and raise its marketing profile in 2013
• Business growth in Europe and Canada

• Plan to open an additional 165-180 restaurants in 2013

• Chipotle will open a second ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen — currently a one-location Asian spin-off restaurant — in Washington, D.C. in the first half of 2013 and also will open a ShopHouse location in the Los Angeles area in the second quarter

Strategy:
• Store Expansion - Chipotle is expanding its store base to compensate for its soft same store sales growth. This is evident in Chipotle’s first quarter results. There was a sizable revenue growth of 13.4% to $726.8 million while comparable stores sales were up by just 1%.
• New Brand - Chipotle is launching its second brand, ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen where it would be serving oriental fare like noodle bowls, curries, and stir fries. The first ShopHouse outlet opened in Washington, DC, in September 2011 and now the company is planning to open three more over the coming months.

• Menu Expansion - The company is introducing a new premium Patrón margarita
Add a new vegetarian option in the form of Sofritas or spicy tofu.

Operation and Distribution:
All of Chipotle’s restaurants are company owned and not franchised. Whenever Chipotle is in the process of launching a new location, the field team hires a new general manager and trains them at a current location so that they will be ready for the new location when it opens for business. The corporate office takes care of finding and funding new locations as well.

Menu:
Chipotle's menu consists of five items: burritos, fajita burritos, burrito bowls, tacos, and salads. The price of each item is based on the choice of chicken, pork carnitas, barbacoa, steak, or vegetarian (with guacamole).

A tofu-based "sofritas" is being test-marketed. Additional optional toppings include rice, beans, four types of salsa, sour cream, cheese, or lettuce.

Steve Ells commented that "It's important to keep the menu focused, because if you just do a few things, you can ensure that you do them better than anybody else”

The majority of food is prepared in each restaurant, with some exceptions being the beans and carnitas, which are prepared at a central kitchen in Chicago, Illinois. None of the restaurants have freezers, microwave ovens, or can openers.

Chipotle's vegetarian options include rice, black beans, fajita vegetables (onions and bell peppers), salsa, guacamole and cheese.
All items other than the meats, pinto beans, cheese, sour cream, and honey vinaigrette dressing are vegan.

Advertisement and Publicity:

Chipotle's marketing approach to be what sets them apart from their fast food counterparts.
Chipotle, in past, relied on billboards, radio ads and word-of-mouth to advertise.
Chipotle is shifting away from traditional advertising. "Chipotle was built on word-of-mouth marketing and they are focusing on reigniting word-of-mouth marketing, rather than big advertising campaigns."
Not to mention that Chipotle's Steve Ells, isn't exactly supportive of advertising. Steve Ells wants to get the word out about Chipotle's commitment to "food with integrity".
Chipotle runs many promotions giving out free food to potential customers, especially when opening a new store. Stores also give out free burritos on certain holidays.

Food with Integrity:
Steve believes that great food and a great dining experience depends on sourcing food that is extraordinary – seasonal, local and artisanal.
Chipotle’s commitment is to seek better food not only from the freshest ingredients, but ingredients that are sustainably grown and naturally raised with respect for the animals, land, and the farmers who produce the food. Chipotle uses dairy from cows raised without the use of synthetic hormones, and when practical, sources organic and local produce.

“Food with Integrity” is about sustainable food, responsible treatment of the land and animals.

The term “Food Integrity” implies a global perspective on food issues – from soil to plate. The term goes beyond food safety in capturing aspects of food production, methods of procurement, and means of distribution. Food with integrity is produced in ways consistent with community values, principles, and beliefs.

Excerpt from Interview with Steve Ells:
How is Chipotle able to source responsibly grown and raised ingredients on such as large scale?
Steve Ells: One good example of efforts to source high-quality ingredients on a large scale is our quest for better pork. As I visited various pork producers across the country, I witnessed how family farms have been displaced by industrialized meat production operations, in which animals endure terrible brutality and suffering. I wanted a different option and began working with Niman Ranch Pork Company, a network of independent ranchers who are committed to humanely raising animals outdoors and without the use of antibiotics. As Chipotle continues to grow, we are helping local family farmers and communities expand their operations, and we are working with modern farmers on adjusting their practices to be more sustainable.
Do you see sustainable farming practices as a trend that is likely to grow over time?
Steve Ells: Yes, as we continue to have this dialogue about eating food that is local, sustainable and seasonal, I’ve noticed that people are becoming more excited about the topic. Just 10 years ago, Niman Ranch pork was primarily available in high-end restaurants and specialty food markets. But I wanted this pork to be available to everybody, so that sustainably-raised food was no longer just an elitist pursuit. I believe that sustainable farming and food is a movement that is likely to accelerate in the years ahead.