Chipotle has brought back menu price increases.
For the first time in over a year, the fast-casual chain said Wednesday it has taken a “modest” price increase of about 2% nationally to offset inflation, according to a statement from Laurie Schalow, Chipotle’s chief corporate affairs officer.
The chain raised menu prices in California in April about 7% to cope with the Fast Food Wage that increased the minimum wage for limited service workers to $20 per hour in the Golden State.
But elsewhere, Chipotle held back on additional pricing this year as officials watched consumers growing more cautious. Earlier this year, Chipotle was also dealing with a TikTok movement criticizing the chain’s portion sizes as being too stingy—though that problem in those “outlier” units has largely been solved, the company said.
In the Sept. 30-ended third quarter, Chipotle’s same-store sales increased 6%, including a 3.3% increase in transactions.
But those sales were boosted in part by a more-premium smoked brisket, which also raised food costs. The chain also cited the rising cost of avocados and dairy. And offering more generous portions overall also cut into margins.
But a 2% increase was not unexpected. In the third-quarter earnings call in October, CFO Adam Rymer hinted that a 2% to 3% price increase might be necessary, though the chain had recently rolled off 3% in pricing from last year.
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