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Chipotle: Only thing not fresh about our food are bogus ingredient claims

Are the attacks against Chipotle legit, or is the brand suffering from being too successful?

September 4, 2015 by Cherryh Cansler — Editor, FastCasual.com

It’s been a tough week for Chipotle between getting hit with a lawsuit alleging its claims of serving GMO-free food are false and today’s full-page ad in the New York Postclaiming that the chain’s food is unhealthy. The ad depicts an overweight, shirtless young man next to the tagline, "Eat two 'all natural' Chipotle burritos a week and you could gain 40 pounds in a year," in large block letters along with "Chipotle' Healthy," running at the top of the page.

Although Chipotle didn’t respond to my inquiries regarding either case, its communications director, Chris Arnold, told The Washington Post the accusations are nothing new.

"They're just rehashing things others have been making up about us for years," he told the Post. "There's nothing false at all about our advertising or marketing, but there are legitimate ways to challenge these sorts of things. Launching a smear campaign isn't one of them. It's actually just pretty infantile."

Infantile, maybe, but there’s no doubt the campaign is getting a lot of attention and is far from over, according to Will Coggin, the director of research at Center for Consumer Freedom, the group behind the ad. "Oh, there is more to come," he told the Post. "But I won't say anymore. I can't talk about it at this time."

According to CCF’s website, it’s a nonprofit organization that lobbies on behalf of the food companies.

"A growing cabal of activists has meddled in Americans’ lives in recent years," CCF stated on its website. "They include self-anointed 'food police,' health campaigners, trial lawyers, personal-finance do-gooders, animal-rights misanthropes, and meddling bureaucrats."

Coggin said Chipotle falls into that category.

"A lot of what Chipotle says about its food is based on misconceptions," he told the Post. "We launched this campaign because we wanted to take this stuff head on."

It remains to be seen if any of the accusations prove true. Maybe they are, or maybe Chipotle is facing what so many companies endure once they reach a high level of succes. Afterall, it's no secret that although we like to watch a brand climb to the top, the public also apparently loves is to see a crash and burn.

About Cherryh Cansler

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Cherryh Cansler is VP of Events for Networld Media Group and publisher of FastCasual.com. She has been covering the restaurant industry since 2012. Her byline has appeared in Forbes, The Kansas City Star and American Fitness magazine, among many others.

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