USA – Fast casual restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill has announced it will give away US$1 million in free quesadillas for National Quesadilla Day on September 25 with the help of delivery platforms Door Dash and Uber Eats.
The marketing effort was inspired by a recent survey by DoorDash showing chicken quesadillas were the platform’s second-most-ordered item in 2023.
According to Chipotle, up to 15,000 DoorDash users and 10,000 Uber Eats users will receive free quesedillas with a minimum order of US$25 and US$15 respectively.
Starting from September 23. Chipotle will drop text-to-claim codes across its X and Instagram social media pages for up to 21,000 customers to redeem for a free quesadilla. However, they will be required to purchase a regular-priced Chipotle entrée to get the free quesadilla.
The chain has also teamed up with Tik Tok creators Shari Dyonee, Dylan McArthur and Anthony Hernandez to disperse text-to-claim codes in their accounts for more than 10,000 customers, redeemable for a BOGO quesadilla.
The casual chain revealed its choice of Tik Tok creators was inspired by the hype around mukbangs, live streaming videos where content creators consumer food while interacting with their audience.
Chipotle revealed the marketing effort is intended to stir up stronger customer loyalty among its digitally native customers. It is also intended to collect valuable first-party data.
The marketing effort is a continuation of the chain’s leveraging of national food holidays that can be easily tied to the brand.
The same strategy was successfully implemented for the National Avocado Day in July.
In April, Chipotle launched Burrito Vault, an interactive game for National Burrito Day. The chain gave away over US$1 million in free burritos for the holiday.
Chipotle also planned a similar promotion on Twitter (now X), which earned the brand its second-highest digital sales day since its inception and its highest one-day volume on social media.
This strategy has been relatively successful, owing to the company’s performance. The casual dining chain reported an 11.1% increase in sales, inspired in part by an 8.7% increase in comparable transactions for Q2 2024.
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