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Key takeaways
- Chipotle is investing in internal technology to maintain consistency across restaurants and drive efficiency.
- All restaurants will get produce slicers, and busier locations may get more efficient grills. The company is experimenting with avocado preparation machines and assembling burrito bowls and salads.
- This move to streamline restaurants is seen across the industry, from burger chains to salad makers.
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) has spent years associating its brand with “classic” cooking techniques. They are now foldable using modern cutting tools, automated avocado peelers, and automated plate assembly.
Interim CEO Scott Boatwright said this week that the burrito chain is looking to build capacity with high-tech machines and automation. Boatwright said the onion, jalapeno and fajita vegetable slicers will be available in all of its restaurants by the end of next summer. About 75 major restaurants are getting grills that can cook meat twice as fast; A company spokesperson said they cook the top and bottom of the meat simultaneously.
The company is also testing a new cooking chips tool, a robot that peels and slices avocados, and a machine that assembles burrito bowls and salads, Boatwright said.
“I envision significant changes happening at home in the near future that will lead to increased efficiency and improved consistency of our cooking style in our restaurants,” Boatwright said, according to a transcript of the call made available by AlphaSense.
The push to improve productivity comes as Chipotle saw comparable store growth of 6% last quarter. Traffic was slow industrywide, but Chipotle performed worse than analysts expected.
Other chains are making similar moves. Sweetgreen (SG) is deploying Infinite Kitchen, which automates many parts of the salad and bowl combination, CFO Mitch Rybak said this spring. Jack in the Box (JACK) expanded its automated French fries production trial to a second restaurant in the third quarter. and Starbucks (SBUX), now led by a former Chipotle CEO, Tools are installed Which requires less employee involvement in grinding coffee beans, as well as a system that reduces the need to bend over and lift heavy loads when mixing drinks.
Diners care less about how meals are assembled than about their cost and speed, says Jason Kaplan, CEO of JK Consulting, a restaurant consulting firm in New York City. While the focus on fresh foods has fueled Chipotle’s success, its customers are more likely to embrace the technology, Kaplan said.
“People expect a certain speed,” Kaplan said. “The consumer today is less patient than the consumer 10 or 15 years ago.”
Boatwright, who was named interim CEO of Chipotle in August, said the new technology will help maintain a uniform size of vegetables and maintain consistency across restaurants. Asked whether automation could prevent consumers from being drawn to Chipotle’s “classic” techniques, a company spokesperson said the chain still uses fresh ingredients and real cooking methods. The innovations make the process more efficient and enhance the flavor profile, the spokesperson said.
On Tuesday’s call, Boatwright said some of the ideas the company has considered — such as a central prep kitchen that would serve multiple restaurants — have so far been challenging in terms of cost and food safety.
The innovations introduced so far may go largely unnoticed by consumers, said Dean Small, founder and managing partner of Synergy Restaurant Consultants, a California-based consulting firm.
“These things happen behind the scenes,” Small said, and he doesn’t expect them to “depress the guest experience.”
#Quest #Chipotle #Bowl #Fast #Fresh #HighTech #Heres
