Chipotle’s New Sustainability Feature Tracks Your “Foodprint”

Need to Know 

• Fast-food chain Chipotle has launched a new sustainability tracker through its mobile app.
• The tracker offers insights into an order’s environmental impact based on five metrics: carbon, water saved, improved soil health, organic land supported, and antibiotics avoided.
• Chipotle’s digital sales saw a 202.5% year-over-year growth last quarter as the brand continues to innovate in the digital space.

Analysis 

In an industry first, Chipotle has launched a new sustainability impact tracker. Dubbed “Real Foodprint”, the digital tool, which is built into the Chipotle app, offers insights into the full impact of your order. 

Using data sourced from research partner HowGood, Real Foodprint allows customers to see the environmental impact of their order based on five metrics: carbon, water saved, improved soil health, organic land supported, and antibiotics avoided.

HowGood compiles information from Chipotle’s suppliers for each of their 53 ingredients. When placing an order on the Chipotle app, customers can then see the environmental impact of the items selected as well as compare them to the industry average. The new tool is also integrated with Twitter, so Chipotle fans can share the tracker’s results with their followers online. 

“Beyond asking people to make the right choice for the climate based on a carbon label, we are demonstrating the impact of our sourcing practices through data computed based on the ingredients in our guests’ orders,” said Chipotle’s head of sustainability Caitlin Leibert. “While our guests can make good choices for the planet by simply eating at Chipotle, the radical transparency provided by Real Foodprint also holds us accountable to improve our practices and source more sustainably over time. It is the combination of transparency for our guests and Chipotle’s commitment to higher standards that make Real Foodprint so impactful.”

The popular fast-food brand has also teamed up with Bill Nye the Science Guy, who is using TikTok videos to spread the word. 

Chipotle has been a leader in the digital space for some time now, and this past year has been especially successful. 

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chipotle pivoted quickly to a digital-first service strategy, posting its best digital quarter ever with 80% growth in April, and reporting that 60% of all orders were coming from digital by July. By the end of the third quarter, Chipotle’s digital sales saw a 202.5% year-over-year increase, reaching $776.4 million in sales. 

The Chipotle app received an update last year and reached seven million members by the end of 2019. From there, the brand has appealed to both loyal and brand new customers with ongoing updates and innovative features.

“We offer simple, easy-to-use experiences that give customers the ability to order exactly what they want, when they want it, to be delivered to them in the way that they choose,” said Nicole West, Chipotle’s VP of digital strategy. “It’s all about beautiful, seamless simple experiences.”