Three decades after the first Chipotle restaurant opened, the burrito chain became a 3,700-plus store giant, riding a wave of growing demand for food that ticks three boxes: delicious, nutritious, and expeditious.
Though the "nutritious" part of the equation is optional at Chipotle — it's very easy to build a sour cream-laden 1,000-calorie burrito — the Mexican-inspired menu has since won millions of fans across the United States. Last year, the fast-casual chain sold more than $11 billion worth of burritos and bowls.
In the last few years, with piles of young professionals opting for a salad and even larger piles of capital willing to pour into the sector, healthy, premium chains have expanded aggressively in a bid to chase the success of Chipotle — which has seen its stock soar more than 6,000% since going public in 2009. That's a return usually associated with tech giants like Amazon, Apple, or Microsoft.
Chief among those competitors are Cava and Sweetgreen — both of which want to emulate the success of Chipotle. But that's easier said than done, with the salad duo struggling to match up.
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