Chipotle Big A** Bag
Recently while scrolling around the internet I saw an ad that really caught my eye. A product from Chipotle called "The Chipotle Big Ass Bag". I was drawn in partly because of the absurdity of the name, but also because of the product shown in the ad. Exactly as the name states, a gigantic Chipotle take out bag, about the size of a large painting. I was so drawn in as I am a frequent customer of Chipotle and their products that I decided to do more research on the product and the marketing campaign behind it.
In the article I used to research the topic, written by Jessica Hammers, I found out that the campaign was a collaboration between Chipotle and a sweets company called Unreal Snacks. Unreal mostly works in chocolate production which may seem like a strange entity to collaborate with Chipotle, until you look into Unreal's recent endeavors. They have been working more towards collaboration with recognizable brands in the space of everyday items to help grow market cap personally, but also expand their endeavors outside of just food production. This comes as a win win for Chipotle too as they get more publicity and their brand and image out in different facets of life for consumers to see. Another big reason for Chipotle to suddenly make this major move is based upon upcoming trends in the world of fashion. Fashion week around the world is coming around the corner, with massive upside for corporations to market new products and ideas, it can become one of the most lucrative ways for non clothing brands to get new eyes by starting a viral campaign when fashion around the world is most documented and shared. Chipotle taking a big swing and getting their product and image-likeness into the hands of the fashion world could pose major market upside for the restaurant chain.
While this move may seem extremely out of the ordinary for a chain like Chipotle, the value proposition for a move like this can pose extreme upside. Getting a product from a different industry into the hands of Chipotles pre-existing cult fanbase could have huge positive implications for the value of the companies brand image, and market cap. The market relevance of this campaign comes from shock factor or a previously "one lane" company, breaking out into a whole different industry, with their first new product being something very shocking, but also recognizable. This move will get people talking about chipotle more in their day to day lives, importantly outside of just in food related contexts.
While this move could be viewed as challenging for Chipotle, as they're diving into a new product line and working with a new company to make it happen, I see it more as a calculated risk by Chipotle. They understand if the product fails it could be very embarrassing, but if so they can just go back to what their best at. But they also have a lot of trust in their current consumer base to make the product a success.
If I was the brand manager for Chipotle and I wanted to reach out into other industries, I think I would eventually go for a big shocking, "designer", product like this. But before I would test the waters and release some more affordable, and less shocking clothing products, just to get a good gauge on how our already established consumers interact with wearable items from Chipotle. I leaned from this research project the lengths companies will go to shock consumers, while also pushing their brand out to other parts of the market, and how companies assess big moves like this relative to the success it could have.
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