Chipotle hopes a spicy new sauce lures in more Gen Z eaters

By Jordan Valinsky, CNN

New York (CNN) — Chipotle is releasing a new sauce that appeals to Gen Z eaters to help the company rebound from two consecutive quarters of slumping sales.

Beginning September 30, the chain is adding for a limited time Red Chimichurri, a new side that targets younger eaters looking for spicy flavors and sauces. The sauce, priced at $1, is made fresh daily with roasted garlic, fresh cilantro, chili peppers and citrus juice.

“When we add new things in, it gets people interested in Chipotle again and gets incremental visits from existing consumers as well as brings new consumers in,” Chris Brandt, Chipotle’s president and chief brand officer, told CNN.

The June launch of Adobo Ranch, another spicy, limited-time item, successfully lured in new guests and jumpstarted sales, he said.

Numerator, a consumer insights firm, found that 46% of customers that bought Chipotle’s Adobo Ranch were “new” guests that hadn’t visited the chain in the prior 8 weeks, according to data provided to CNN. They were also 20% also more likely to be Gen Z.

Brandt hopes the addition of the Red Chimichurri, which was created for its Carne Asada but is “good across everything,” brings the same success as Chipotle’s other limited time offerings that boosted sales. (He revealed that Carne Asada is “off to a good start” since its September 4 launch.)

“We know from research with consumers, people like to order the same thing from Chipotle a lot. Where they can add a sauce and just vary it up a little bit, it’s like a whole new experience,” Brandt said.

Specifically, Gen Z consumers have a spice-loving palette – the result of them having “more exposure to global flavors than anybody’s ever had before,” he added.

Red Chimichurri is another new sauce offering within fast food.

Recently, McDonald’s added a limited edition Gold Sauce to its menu, Taco Bell rolled out a collaboration with Mike’s Hot Honey for a Diablo Sauce and KFC said it’s expanding its Saucy concept to 13 more locations.

What’s next?

Chipotle’s shares have fallen about 30% since former CEO Brian Niccol departed for Starbucks last year. The chain named Scott Boatwright, its former chief operating officer, as its CEO last November.

The company previously warned that economic uncertainty was causing people to cut back their visits. But the chain began seeing a rebound over the summer. Chipotle’s next earnings report comes out on October 29.

A strategy that seems to be working under Boatwright is ramping up limited time offerings. Previously, Chipotle had about two to three a year. Tuesday’s sauce launch was the third in under a month.

Brandt admitted it’s a “competitive environment out there in restaurants” and there’s a lot of “uncertainty about the economy” from consumers, forcing competitors to unleash new value menus to spur business.

For now, Chipotle is sticking to its plan of mixing up its menu.

“We’re really leaning into innovation at the end of this year and we’re really leaning into it next year,” he said. “The (next) year will look more like the back half of the year for us to really help drive consumers in.”

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.