Apparently, a lot more customers will order delivery when you expand the number of locations with the service, add a well-known partner and waive the fee.
Chipotle on Wednesday said that its delivery orders have increased 667% in the week since the chain announced a partnership with the third-party provider DoorDash.
The partnership expanded the service to more than 1,500 locations. And the two companies made delivery free to customers who ordered $10 or more from Chipotle through DoorDash during the week.
“We hit the ground running during our first week as Chipotle’s largest on-demand partner, and we’re just getting started,” Christopher Payne, DoorDash’s chief operating officer, said in a statement. He said that DoorDash “looks forward to building on our momentum as we continue to expand operations with Chipotle across the U.S. and Canada.”
Chipotle’s deal with DoorDash is its largest partnership with any delivery provider. The release on Wednesday suggests that partnership will only grow.
Chipotle under new CEO Brian Niccol is intent on increasing access to the brand, with more digital orders and delivery, and marketing those efforts to its customers, in a bid to reinvigorate sales.
Chipotle has developed a second makeline, for instance, to make the food for those delivery, mobile order and catering customers. Most Chipotle locations have that second makeline, and the company said Wednesday that it had record digital orders last week.
Chipotle said that the average DoorDash delivery time was 34 minutes between when the order was made and when it was dropped off. The most delivery orders were made in Chicago, Dallas and Denver. And the most frequently ordered items were burrito bowls, burritos and chips and guacamole.
Chipotle stock was up slightly on Wednesday morning. It is up more than 45% year to date, as investors have endorsed the hiring of Niccol, the former Taco Bell CEO, to replace company founder Steve Ells.
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