Chipotle Brand
What factors contributed to the loss of confidence in the Chipotle brand?
Since 2018, Chipotle restaurant has been losing clients. Some of the factors that caused customers to lose confidence in the brand include the salmonella outbreak from the contaminated tomatoes served in the restaurant. The second factor was a report about employees and customers suffering from gastrointestinal symptoms brought by norovirus after eating contaminated food and due to unhygienic environments. The last factor is the negative publicity the brand received from the media arising from the previous incidences. The negative reports led to a loss of confidence in the brand, decreased customers’ trust, and greatly impacted the restaurant’s internal environment.
Do the actions taken to-date present a strategy that would improve consumer trust? Why or why not?
The actions taken to date do not guarantee that the Chipotle brand will improve its clients’ trust. For example, in the first scenario, which resulted from food contamination, it is evident that the restaurant itself did not understand how the food became contaminated. There is no way they can defend their restaurant (Walker & Merkley, 2017). Although the restaurant can blame the suppliers, the reason is not valid as they are responsible for checking the expiry dates of their goods. Also, the contaminated food issue occurred in different branches, which shows the ineffectiveness of the restaurant’s management.
Consider Chipotle’s competitors. How does Chipotle’s internal environment compare to the internal environment of one of its competitors? Based on this analysis, what is the probability that the strategic moves implemented by Chipotle would lead to a sustainable competitive advantage? Explain.
The food poisoning occurrence impacted the restaurant’s internal environment and left the Chipotle brand at the mercy of its competitors. The restaurant’s internal environment was greatly affected since the food illness caused a lot of customers to lower their confidence in the brand and look for an alternative. The Baja Fresh Mexican is one of the competitors to the Chipotle Mexican grill. The Baja Restaurant has a favorable internal environment compared to Chipotle as the restaurant enjoys customers’ trust and hence more client traffic. The probability of Chipotle enjoying the benefit of sustainable competitive advantage is unpredictable. The company is well off in the competitive business environment. However, the confidence of their customers is key to achieving a competitive advantage. Chipotle has tried to adapt to every strategy to gain its clients’ trust; for example, the restaurant started shutting down some of the affected branches, but the strategies seemed not to work. In addition, the restaurant is committed to working with the federal government to ensure food safety in the operating stores; however, this strategy also does not seem to be very effective in restoring customers’ trust in the brand.
What additional recommendations would you make for Chipotle to gain consumer trust and reclaim a leadership role in the fast-food industry? Provide justification for your response.
To regain its market leadership position and maintain customers’ trust, the Chipotle brand should work on identifying the cause of the food illness (Gilliard et al., 2017). After identifying the cause, the restaurant should ensure that they thoroughly address it to avoid a repetition of the incident. It is unrealistic for the brand to try to gain the confidence of their clients, whereas the cause that resulted in the loss of their trust is yet to be identified. The restaurant had opted to close the branch in southern California, but a few weeks later, the same incident occurred in a branch in Portland. Therefore, the management should conduct an audit on all the branches and ensure that they identify the cause of their food being contaminated.
Based on the information presented in this case study, what kind of business strategy would you suggest to help Chipotle achieve a competitive advantage?
From the situation displayed in the case study, I would recommend an effective operational strategy while trying to regain their customers’ confidence. The brand was doing well before the illness incidents occurred in the different branches. It would be imperative for the brand to identify the source of the contamination menace and aim to offer services at their best as they used to before the incident occurred. Using this strategy, they are likely to attract more clients and gain the confidence of their previous customers. Also, the plan will help them identify some of the various factors to implement to outdo their competitors. By implementing this strategy, the restaurant will be stronger than before, which will enable them to regain their customers’ confidence and regain their competitive advantage.
References
Gilliard, D. J., Hoffman, D. L., & Baalbaki, S. (2017). Is Chipotle Mexican Grill successfully recovering from its food-related incidents? Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness, 11(4), 34-48.
Walker, R., & Merkley, G. (2017). Chipotle Mexican Grill: Food with integrity? Kellogg School of Management.
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Question 
Chipotle Mexican Grill Case Study
Read Chipotle Mexican Grill’s Strategy in 2018: Will the New CEO Be Able to Rebuild Customer Trust and Revive Sales Growth?” in your Connect textbook.
Chipotle Brand
Write a 350- to 700-word response that addresses the following questions:
- What factors contributed to the loss of confidence in the Chipotle brand?
- Do the actions taken to-date present a strategy that would improve consumer trust? Why or why not?
- Consider Chipotle’s competitors. How does Chipotle’s internal environment compare to the internal environment of one of its competitors? Based on this analysis, what is the probability that the strategic moves implemented by Chipotle would lead to a sustainable competitive advantage? Explain.
- What additional recommendations would you make for Chipotle to gain consumer trust and reclaim a leadership role in the fast-food industry? Provide justification for your response.
- Based on the information presented in this case study, what kind of business strategy would you suggest to help Chipotle achieve a competitive advantage?