Chipotle's portion sizes have garnered a lot of online debate about whether the company has reduced its servings for customers in recent years. Numerous posts on social media in recent months have claimed Chipotle's portions are smaller than they used to be, a charge that Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol has disputed.
But in a call with investors on Wednesday, Niccol said the company will reemphasize giving customers larger portions.
"There was never a directive to provide less to our customers. Generous portion is a core brand equity of Chipotle. It always has been, and it always will be," Niccol said. "We have also leaned in and reemphasized generous portions across all of our restaurants as it is a core brand equity of Chipotle. Our guests expect this now more than ever, and we are committed to making this investment to reinforce that Chipotle stands for a generous amount of delicious, fresh food at fair prices for every customer visit."
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Niccol said that it monitors customer feedback at all locations and that employees at sites with outlier feedback will get additional "training and coaching" around ensuring they consistently make bowls and burritos correctly.
Niccol said offering generous portions is part of the company's identity and that about 10% of Chipotle locations were not living up to expectations.
"The thing I want to emphasize is for 90% of our restaurants, they're doing business as usual," Niccol said. "So, I don't want it to be lost on the fact that this really was something where we doubled down as a system, but we really needed to kind of train up roughly 10% of the system."
Despite the social media controversy, the company continues to remain strong. Chipotle's stock is up 23% from this time a year ago. Chipotle said that comparable restaurant sales increased 11.1% in the second quarter of 2024 compared to 2023.