Time, there never seems to be enough, which is why many people choose to eat out rather than eating at home. The fast food industry has many options; between the options are many similarities and differences that people seem to overlook. Going in depth to comparisons and contrasts between restaurant chains can be very insightful. Two of the most competitive restaurant chains are Chipotle and Qdoba; both companies are well-known and often compared, but are different from each other as well.
One of the biggest discussions that come with Chipotle and Qdoba is the food being served. Chipotle serves “Food with Integrity,” meaning the food contains no GMO’s (genetically modified organisms) and is antibiotic free. The restaurant prefers to get food
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that’s raised with integrity rather than get sources that have been altered and abused. “Real ingredients just taste better” (Chipotle); Chipotle does have healthier choices than other restaurants, the food does become a little bit more pricy. For example, guacamole is another $1.95 on top of an average burrito price of $7.60. The prices may be high, but people still buy food from Chipotle because one may want to go to a healthier choice of food, even though the menu is limited. Chipotle’s menu consists of a burrito, tacos, bowl, or salad. Qdoba provides those four options and queso, nachos, smothered burritos, Mexican gumbo, and offer wheat tortillas, even free guacamole is offered. Qdoba’s popularity comes from their queso that makes the customers come back for more. Other than little differences, both companies offer the same food and services, like catering; Chipotle and Qdoba are both Mexican-American based foods. Like any other job, Chipotle and Qdoba does come with employment benefits.
Chipotle has been in the news recently for offering college tuition reimbursement after a year of employment. Since the company normally hires 18-year-olds for the job, receiving up to 90% of tuition reimbursement forces someone to keep an eye on Chipotle. On top of that, the starting pay is $9 per hour, already higher than the federal minimum wage. Chipotle attracts new people interested in working if more is being offered than another job. Also, vision, dental, and health insurance after the first day of employment. One benefit Qdoba has that Chipotle doesn’t is schedule flexibility. Chipotle sets the official schedule two weeks in advance and becomes difficult to change days. Qdoba tends to hire more people regularly and has availability at last minute for employees if necessary. The starting pay for their employees is set at the exact federal minimum wage of $8.23 per hour. Vision, dental, and health insurance is offered to employees too, but only after 90 days of employment. Two benefits Chipotle and Qdoba offer are career ladders and employee discounts. If any employee is interested in rising up in the company ladder, the next steps are take out specialists, kitchen managers, apprentices (learns from the general manager), and manager. With each new job offered as one climbs up the ladder, the salary rises and so does the experience. For employee discounts, both companies offer free meals while on the job and then 50% off when not working. Chipotle and Qdoba benefits are more equal than when it comes to serving
food. Consumers have a tendency to save time and go out to eat whether the person is a family member, friend, acquaintance, or even if the person is by themselves. The food industry has many choices to pick from. Chipotle and Qdoba seem to have popularity growth increasing and decreasing back and forth all the time, which is why the two companies become so competitive and are easier to compare and contrast from each other. Chipotle has pros and cons, just like Qdoba does too; both companies have similarities, but have specific differences that makes each company unique.
New restaurant openings and comparable restaurant sales increases are important factors contributing to Chipotle’s increase in revenues in recent years.
Chipotle is classified in the restaurant industry as fast casual, a combination of the quick serve and the casual dining segments. Fast casual restaurants have the following attributes: high quality foods, upscale atmosphere, higher check averages between $7-$11, and pay at the counter (What exactly is fast casual?, 2008).
Chipotles has taken the market share during their launch of the new Vegan option. “Chipotle Mexican Grill introduced Sofritas, the first vegan meal offered by a national fast food chain that's not a salad or a veggie burger.” (Neporent, 2013). Taco Bell and Chipotle share the same market share, and there is a potential that
Chipotle is my favorite place to eat. As I am sure it is for other people. Chipotle is a fast food Mexican grill. They are most known for how big they make your burritos. Now it is fast food but it isn’t actually fast, they’re like a restaurant but without the wait. They serve all naturally raised meat and organic beans. So there food is pretty healthy and worth eating. The employees are always nice and it just a great place to eat over all. Chipotle is a great choice for a quick fast food stop because it gives great service, atmosphere, food and value. My experience there is always a good one.
Because Chipotle has to pay higher prices for their company’s items such as the avocados and package than its competitors. According to the MarketLine articles about Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., "For instance, an average meal at Chipotle is the range of about $8, Whereas its competitors such as McDonalds, Taco Bell and KFC has options such as Value menus that start from even $1." Chipotle food is expensive because they have the best quality ingredients that are not common such as the avocados for their competitors. But Chipotle 's competitors are getting more sales revenues of their menu items because with one dollar to can buy a meal for a
The fast food restaurant industry, which includes quick-service and fast-casual restaurants, is highly segmented with the top 50 companies accounting for only 25% of the industry’s sales. The $120 billion industry includes over 200,000 restaurants with 50% of those specializing in hamburger entrees. (hoovers.com 2008) The major competitors in the industry include McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Subway, and KFC – Chick-fil-A’s major competitor in chicken sales. Chick-fil-A’s unique position in the market, specializing in chicken-based entrées, has lead to a competitive advantage which the company has been able to capitalize on. Recently, many competitors have added chicken entrees in order to compete in the market segment. Through marketing strategies and company initiatives, Chick-fil-A has tried to stay distant from competitors, offering a fresh alternative to the ordinary fast food restaurant.
With a unique appeal, a healthy and delicious product, and a powerful social message that made our target customers feel great about eating Chipotle over more traditional fast food, we have pioneered the fast-casual restaurant model our customers admire. Furthermore, our food sourcing is a rewardable effort and it is what we and our customers respect.
When Chipotle first opened in 1993, the goal was to serve quality food fast, but not be considered “fast food.” To avoid falling under the fast food stigma, Chipotle strives to find the best ingredients with respect to animals, farmers, and the environment. In order to achieve these goals, Chipotle has created a matrix organizational structure that is divisional by location and functional by authority. Chipotle recently expanded internationally to the United Kingdom, Germany, and France, each following strict guidelines assigned by corporate employees from their headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Similarly, each location is functionally organized according to authority: regional manager, district manager, store manager, assistant manager, and
Chipotle and Moe’s are similar restaurants. They both have the same set-up and style of food. Chipotle has 2,010 locations while Moe’s have 600 locations. Chipotle doesn't have a bigger verity of food than Moe’s does but Chipotle quality is better. Chipotle started to focus more on using ingredients that are fresh and raised responsibly as for Moe’s has hidden MSG in their food.
From a study completed by Chicago-based Research International USA completed a study called “Fast Food Nation 2008. The panel consisted of 1,000 respondents of ages 16-65 who provided their inputs with an online survey which was conducted between March 13 through 2008. Which was based on results on fast food restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s are gaining popularity even through the economic hardship and recession. Marketing strategy has become more of influence on kids and young American’s. As population grows and the demand increases of fast food restaurants are expanding their stores to capturing more consumers. Fast food chains are also willing to change their menus to continue to gain and retain repeating customers. With each generation that passes, brings fast food chains into more homes and continues impacting lives.
Abstract This paper explores the business strategies Chipotle is using for operations. Analyzing financial and operations data to discuss areas of concern as well as areas where Chipotle Mexican Grill is doing well. Discussions will include the importance of Chipotle’s menu preparation strategy and menu integrity. The marketing strategies
These forces include the intensity of rivalry from traditional competitors, threat of new market entrants, threat of substitute products and services, bargaining power of customers and bargaining power of suppliers (Laudon & Laudon, 2007). See diagram below for more information. Traditional Competitors (competitive rivalry). McDonalds traditional competitors include many of the other fast food outlets across the country, i.e. Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC, Wendy’s. It has been shown by Professor Michael Waterson (2004) that the presence of a Burger King, for example, will increase the likelihood that McDonalds will open nearby.
Fierce and growing competition – big fast food companies like Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken are constantly competing with McDonalds for customers and trying to take the spot as the top fast food chain.
Fast food has changed the face of the world. Major chains like McDonalds span all over the world. Fast food chains are continuing to grow despite numerous facts of their unhealthiness. Fast food has been proven to be a dangerous food source, yet people continue to purchase it. The more people buy fast food the more it allows the big corporations to grow. People continue to eat fast food because there are no other convenient options.
First, fast food and home-cooked meals differ in the time. The people choose fast food because they do not have time to prepare a proper meal and it can be prepared very quickly. Jekanowski, Binkley, and Eales (2001) claimed that fast food outlets’ main sales point is convenience. The fast food companies open a lot of branches in the different area so that the customers just need a few minutes to buy a set of fast food even it is complete with a drink.