The Quest To Make Your Chipotle Bowl Fast and Fresh is Going High-Tech. Here’s Why.

Key Takeaways

• Chipotle is investing in back-of-the-house technology to maintain consistency across restaurants and lift efficiency.
• All restaurants will get produce slicers and busy locations may get more efficient grills. The company is experimenting with machines that prepare avocados and assemble burrito bowls and salads.
• The move to streamline restaurants is seen across the industry, from burger chains to salad makers.

Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) has spent years linking its brand with “classic” culinary techniques. Now it’s folding in state-of-the-art slicers, mechanized avocado peelers and automated dish assembly.

The burrito chain is looking to build up capacity with high-tech appliances and automation, Interim CEO Scott Boatwright said this week. Produce slicers that chop onions, jalapeños and fajita vegetables will be in all of its restaurants by the end of next summer, Boatwright said. And about 75 high-volume restaurants are getting grills that can cook meat twice as fast; they cook the top and bottom of the meat simultaneously, a spokesperson said.

The company is also testing a new tool for cooking chips, a robot that peels and slices avocados and a machine that assembles burrito bowls and salads, Boatwright said.

“I envision significant back-of-the-house changes in the near future that will drive efficiencies and improve the consistency of our culinary in our restaurants,” Boatwright said, according to a transcript of the call made available by AlphaSense.

The push to improve throughput comes as Chipotle saw comparable-store growth of 6% last quarter. Traffic has been sluggish industry-wide, but Chipotle performed worse than analysts expected. 

Other chains are making similar moves. Sweetgreen (SG) is deploying Infinite Kitchen, which automates many parts of salad and bowl assembly, CFO Mitch Reback said this spring. Jack in the Box (JACK) extended a trial of automated fry production to a second restaurant in the third quarter. And Starbucks (SBUX), now led by a former Chipotle CEO, is installing tools that require less staff involvement in grinding coffee beans, as well as a system that reduces the need for bending and heavy lifting when blending beverages.

Diners care less about how meals come together than they do about their cost and speed, said Jason Kaplan, CEO of JK Consulting, a restaurant advisory firm in New York City. While a focus on fresh prep fueled Chipotle’s success, its customers will likely embrace the technology, Kaplan said.

“People expect a certain speed,” Kaplan said. “The consumer of today is even less patient than the consumer of 10, 15 years ago.”

Boatwright, who was named Chipotle’s interim CEO in August, said the new technology would help keep vegetables a uniform size and maintain consistency across restaurants. Asked if automation could deter consumers drawn to Chipotle’s “classic” techniques, a company spokesperson said the chain still uses fresh ingredients and true cooking methods. The innovations make the process more efficient and enhance the flavor profile, the spokesperson said.

And on Tuesday’s call, Boatwright said that some ideas the company had considered — such as a central prep kitchen that serves multiple restaurants — have so far been challenging from expense and food safety perspectives.

The innovations introduced so far may largely go unnoticed by consumers, said Dean Small, founder and managing partner of Synergy Restaurant Consultants, an advisory firm based in California.

“These things are behind the scenes,” Small said, who doesn’t anticipate that they’ll “deter from the guest experience.”