Hungry for a Chipotle meal, but trying to minimize your food spending? You and your wallet might be in luck — but only if you're a true fan of the brand.
While other fast food companies are introducing $1 menus, combo boxes or limited-time deals to entice inflation-weary customers back to their restaurants, Chipotle fans will need to use a bit more brain power to snag its current deal — but that deal might last you much longer than just tomorrow's lunch.
From Tuesday through Thursday, the Mexican casual restaurant has brought back Chipotle IQ, a trivia game that its rewards members can play once a day to try to win prizes it says are worth more than $1 million in total.
Trivia questions will test fans' knowledge of the company's "real ingredients, leading food standards, culinary techniques, sustainability efforts, brand history and community engagement," Chipotle said in announcing the fifth year of the game. Answers will range from multiple choice and true or false to write-ins.
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Those who score a 10 out of 10 will be offered one of 5,000 buy-one-get-one-free regular menu entrée codes that Chipotle will offer each hour while the deal stands. These codes can be redeemed for burritos, burrito bowls, single three-taco orders or quesadillas, but not kids' meals, single tacos or three-point meals.
A perfect score will also unlock an extra credit question, and if the rewards member can answer it correctly, they will be entered to win free burritos for a year, a prize Chipotle is giving to 50 lucky customers.
But even if you get one incorrect answer, you're not totally out of luck. For those who answer seven to nine questions correctly, and those who don't receive one of the 5,000 BOGO codes in a certain hour, they will still receive 25 points in their rewards account. That's until the 400,000 bonus points that are available each day run out.
"With four million game plays since we introduced the concept, we believe there's an appetite for competition and free burritos," said Chris Brandt, Chipotle's chief brand officer. "For anyone looking to get ahead, one hint is that we use 48 avocados in every batch of our hand-mashed guac."
Though it might not be directly related to fast food's so-called value wars, Chipotle's game comes as its competitors are seeing the benefits their value-based or limited-time promotions can bring.
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Data last month from Placer.ai shows that foot traffic has increased at some of the chains that have introduced offers like McDonald's $5 value meal, which launched June 25. That day was the company's busiest Tuesday of the year, according to the data.
The report also shows Starbucks saw a 20% increase in customers on May 10 compared to last year, which was the first day it rolled out a 50% discount on some beverages from noon to 6 p.m.
The deals come as several restaurant leaders have said they may have priced out some consumers during a period of high inflation and are now rethinking the affordability angle.
According to the Consumer Price Index, between January 2021 and June 2024, prices for food away from home increased by 22.7%, with many restaurants having said the rising prices were driven by rising labor costs.
