Chipotle Case Study Essay Example
Chipotle, Inc.
History of Chipotle Steve Ells is the founder and CEO of Chipotle. Steve is a trained chef and opened his first Chipotle store in 1993 at a former Dolly Madison ice cream store in Denver, Colorado. His goal was to serve high quality, delicious food quickly and in a “fast-casual” setting (Ells).
As Chipotle began to grow and expand, Steve took the initiative to learn about the way most of the food in the US is produced and processed. He was quite disturbed when he discovered that pigs were raised in confinement, produce was grown on factory farms with very little respect for the environment and dairy cows were confined and injected with hormones (Ells). This experience prompted Steve to meet with ranchers and farmers who were dedicated to raising livestock and growing produce naturally. He partnered with these producers to provide fresh natural food to his customers (Ells).
Steve’s commitment is to run his business in a way that is doesn’t exploit animals, people or the environment and is the philosophy that guides every decision he makes. The Chipotle history continued as follows:
1995 & 1996 - Seven additional restaurants were opened in the Denver area.
1998 - Chipotle brought on outside investors.
1999 – The first Chipotles opened outside of Colorado: Minneapolis and Columbus
2000 – Chipotle started serving naturally raised pork. Today, Chipotle serves 100% naturally raised pork.
2002 – Started serving naturally raised chicken. Today, Chipotle gets 100% of its chicken from farms that meet Chipotle’s standards.
2004 – Chipotle starts using zero trans-fat frying oil.
2006 – Chipotle goes public on New York Stock Exchange.
2007 – Begin serving 100% naturally raised beef and processed cheese and sour cream.
2008 – Black beans are certified organic and its local food initiative is taking off!
2009 – Steve Ells testifies before Congress to try to eliminate the use of antibiotics in ranching.
2010 – In April, the
History of Chipotle Steve Ells is the founder and CEO of Chipotle. Steve is a trained chef and opened his first Chipotle store in 1993 at a former Dolly Madison ice cream store in Denver, Colorado. His goal was to serve high quality, delicious food quickly and in a “fast-casual” setting (Ells).
As Chipotle began to grow and expand, Steve took the initiative to learn about the way most of the food in the US is produced and processed. He was quite disturbed when he discovered that pigs were raised in confinement, produce was grown on factory farms with very little respect for the environment and dairy cows were confined and injected with hormones (Ells). This experience prompted Steve to meet with ranchers and farmers who were dedicated to raising livestock and growing produce naturally. He partnered with these producers to provide fresh natural food to his customers (Ells).
Steve’s commitment is to run his business in a way that is doesn’t exploit animals, people or the environment and is the philosophy that guides every decision he makes. The Chipotle history continued as follows:
1995 & 1996 - Seven additional restaurants were opened in the Denver area.
1998 - Chipotle brought on outside investors.
1999 – The first Chipotles opened outside of Colorado: Minneapolis and Columbus
2000 – Chipotle started serving naturally raised pork. Today, Chipotle serves 100% naturally raised pork.
2002 – Started serving naturally raised chicken. Today, Chipotle gets 100% of its chicken from farms that meet Chipotle’s standards.
2004 – Chipotle starts using zero trans-fat frying oil.
2006 – Chipotle goes public on New York Stock Exchange.
2007 – Begin serving 100% naturally raised beef and processed cheese and sour cream.
2008 – Black beans are certified organic and its local food initiative is taking off!
2009 – Steve Ells testifies before Congress to try to eliminate the use of antibiotics in ranching.
2010 – In April, the