NEW YORK (AP) – Chipotle is acting out of character in its desperation to win back customers – a struggle that could last a significant time.
After a series of food scares drove customers away, the company has turned to more traditional advertising, expanded its famously simple menu to add chorizo and even inaugurated a summertime loyalty program. That’s a change from better days, when Chipotle said it didn’t need such incentives to get people to buy its bowls and burritos.
Despite Chipotle’s assurances that it has taken steps to tighten food safety procedures after the E. coli outbreak and norovirus cases starting last fall that sickened people around the country, many are still staying away.
And in a distraction the company could ill afford, the marketing executive leading the chain’s efforts to rebound after the food scares faces cocaine-possession charges. Mark Crumpacker was placed on leave after he was named in an indictment by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Morgan Stanley said last week that it believes a full sales recovery back to Chipotle’s peak volumes could take years, based on a consumer survey it conducted. The survey showed about a quarter of Chipotle customers have either stopped going or reduced how often they eat at the chain, six months after the last reported food safety incident.