Brandt and his team have given Chipotle a renewed cultural cachet that’s paying dividends.
Chris Brandt has transformed Chipotle into a purpose-driven lifestyle brand, making it more visible and culturally relevant. In the meantime, sales and loyalty memberships at the chain reached new highs in 2022.
Brandt’s strategies as CMO put Chipotle’s food at the forefront and marketed it with content that’s just as craveable.
He strategically leveraged Roblox to educate Gen Z on Chipotle’s ingredients and culinary techniques in a fun way. The Garlic Guajillo Steak Grill Simulator taught fans about the real ingredients and authentic cooking techniques behind the brand’s menu innovation, generating 1.8 million gameplays in the first week, with an average playtime of 10 minutes, leading to 1.1 billion PR impressions.
Brandt also oversaw viral campaigns such as Chipotle’s lemonade candle promotion, its napkin cargo pants and the brand’s integration with TikTok “Corn Kid” Tariq.
“Under [Brandt’s] leadership, I believe [Chipotle] really understands culture, and understands it in a way that feels much more like a native to culture,” said one Creativity Awards judge, adding that they were impressed with how the brand could “jump on things in a way that’s cool and not cringe.”
The results of the work include digital sales growth of 24.7% last year, with digital now accounting for 45.6% of the chain’s total sales. And Chipotle’s rewards club enrollments have surpassed 30 million.
