Will ‘Chubby Chipotle’ Campaign Mean Skinnier Sales for Chipotle?

If you happened to be one of the executives at the casual dining restaurant Chipotle Mexican Grill, then it was definitely a little bit of a shock. Among the apparent enemies of Chipotle would seem to be rival food companies.

According to the ad, placed by ChubbyChipotle.com, if you eat two “all-natural” Chipotle burritos, you could gain up to 40 pounds a year.

The campaign was initiated by the Center for Consumer Freedom, which is considered to be of a rather hazy ethical orientation, as it has been claimed that it has received funding from food chains such as Wendy’s and White Castle and food industry giant Tyson Foods. The lobbying organization became famous after fighting other high-profile campaigns like former New York Mayor Bloomberg’s efforts to ban the sale of large, sugary sodas and the laws that restrict smoking to specific areas.

The company said it is different from other chains because diners choose what goes into each Chipotle meal.

“Chipotle is all about marketing itself as a feel-good, healthy company”, Will Coggin, director of research for the CFF, told New York Post while talking about the Chubby Chipotle ads. It claims that the CFF is just “agenda-driven people” that are willing to do anything for money.

Chipotle isn’t taking the criticisms lying down. “This whole thing is a ridiculous smear campaign based on inaccurate representations of our positions and orchestrated by the Center for Consumer Freedom on behalf of its unknown supporters”, said Chipotle spokesman Chris Arnold via email.

Arnold also mentioned that they expect that this is only the beginning of the campaign meant to destroy their reputation and that they expect more ads to come soon enough.

Some people believe that the CCF is getting donations from competitors.