Chipotle's (CMG) Lifestyle Bowls Expands Its Menu Nationwide

In an intensely competitive restaurant industry, Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG) is leaving no stone unturned to attract customers. The company recently announced that it is expanding and innovating its Lifestyle Bowls by adding Supergreens salad mix and Whole30 Compliant Chicken to its menu on a nationwide basis.

Notably, the Supergreens salad will replace the romaine-only salad base and will be made of hand-cut romaine and crisp baby spinach. Also, it will mark the company’s second new menu item after the successful rollout of Carne Asada in September 2019.

Chipotle is confident about the success of these additions in its Lifestyle Bowls as it offers variety of dietary choices, including 3 Whole30 Salad Bowls, 2 Keto Salad Bowls, Paleo Salad Bowl, High Protein Bowl, Vegan Bowl and Vegetarian Salad Bowl. "Lifestyle Bowls allow us to preconfigure our real ingredients, including the new Supergreens salad blend, in a way that helps our guests reach or maintain their health and wellness goals." as stated by Nevielle Panthaky, vice president of Culinary at Chipotle.

Menu Innovations to Drive Growth

Chipotle ranks among the well-established global quick-service restaurant brands. As a result, it enjoys enormous customer trust and brand loyalty, thereby making it easier for the company to launch new product lines.

On Jan 2, 2019, Chipotle launched its first menu innovation called Lifestyle Bowls for mobile and web orders that resonated well with consumers. It generated over 1.3 billion earned media impressions in the first few days of January. Lifestyle Bowls also boosted the company’s digital sales growth to hit a $1B milestone recently.

Also, the company introduced new kitchen ovens, which are improving the quality of its latest Quesadillas. Beyond carne asada, it is testing queso blanco salads and quesadillas that are gaining valuable feedback in various markets.

Notably, backed by solid expansion strategies and a strong brand presence, the rollout is expected to drive the company’s top line. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 sales is pegged at $6.23 billion, suggesting 12.4% year-over-year growth .

Shares of Chipotle have gained 88.6% in the past year compared with the industry’s 19.9% growth.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Chipotle currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the same space include Chuy's Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHUY) , Bloomin Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) and Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:DNKN) . While Chuy’s sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Bloomin and Dunkin carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Chuy’s, Bloomin and Dunkin have impressive long-term earnings growth rate of 17.5%, 9.8% and 10.9%, respectively.

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