Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright Talks Prices & Expanding To Mexico

**SPEAKER_1** (0:02)
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio, News.

**Romaine Bostick** (0:09)
So breaking news, we've learned that Chipotle, the Tex-Mex chain that is primarily based here in the United States, is set to open its first location in Mexico later this week.
It's a substantial expansion that will eventually extend to Mexico City in 2027 And it's part of a broader international expansion by relatively new CEO, Scott Boatwright. We had a chance to sit down with Scott just a few minutes ago. Here's what he had to say about the opening.

**Scott Boatwright** (0:36)
We believe Mexico is a really important milestone for our great brand as we continue to lean into our global strategy.
It's an important country for us. We recognize and admire the culinary heritage that is a part of the Mexican culture, and we respect what we believe to be some of the best food in the world. What we're working to do is really tackle this emerging trend that we see around the globe. We also see it down in Mexico. This idea around fresh ingredients being prepared same day, freshly in restaurants, and we believe what we do and what we offer will really resonate with the Mexican community.

**Romaine Bostick** (1:16)
I know you've had to have done a lot of market research, and there's been a lot of talk about this idea of just how prolific, not just Mexican taquerias are, but obviously all of the unauthorized stands. Anyone who's walked around Mexico City, Monterrey, these big cities, they are everywhere. And I saw one stat that said that basically if you live in an urban area in Mexico, you don't have to go more than 200 or 300 feet Before you find a taco cart of some kind or another. Have you factored that into your equation, that you're not just competing against established chains, but basically that ma or pa, so to speak, on the street, selling food from their carts?

**Scott Boatwright** (1:53)
Yeah, it's a great question, and we have. And so we have partnered with what we believe to be a world-class partner in Alcea in Mexico, So, we're here in San Pedro, who has brought other US brands into the country at a very successful pace of growth with brands like Starbucks and Cheesecake Factory. And they've done an incredible job. So, we believe the right partnership, strength of the partnership, and the opportunity to go into Monterrey first and showcase the brand in a really unique way down in San Pedro is really step one.
As we continue to move through Monterey and open up and expand, we'll have our site set on Mexico City next. But we believe what we offer, the idea of the best ingredients in the world, prepared fresh in restaurant daily, at an abundance and variety and speed, it really which is unmatched, at a really competitive price point, will resonate well with the consumers in the market.

**Katie Greifeld** (2:46)
Well, Scott, as you mentioned, you're starting in Monterrey, you have plans to expand into Mexico City a little bit later, in terms of timeline here. Talk to us about that cadence, why you chose to start in Monterrey, what sort of boxes that region check for you?

**Scott Boatwright** (3:02)
If you haven't been to Monterrey, it's a really beautiful city, really progressive city in Mexico.
We love the trade area, we love the consumer profile in that market specifically. We plan to expand at a very measured pace to show that the brand can work in really any geography around the world. We think Monterrey is a great starting point for us. We'll launch the brand there, move to a number of restaurants, and then move to Mexico City where we think we can be hyper successful in a really large metro city that is probably one of the largest cities in the world.

**Katie Greifeld** (3:37)
Well, as Romaine sort of hinted at, there's a little bit of irony when it comes to the fact that Chipotle Mexican Grill is opening up, expanding into Mexico. With that in mind, what changes do you have planned for Mexico when you think about pricing, your menus, potentially your ingredients? What are you adapting to Mexico? What are you keeping the same?

**Scott Boatwright** (3:59)
We plan to use the same menu we have here in the United States in Mexico. We'll locally source as much of the product we bring over the border today as it relates to avocados and tomatoes and peppers. We'll locally source those, but it'll be the same menu we've launched in Western Europe, the same menu we launched in the Middle East with our partner, Alshaya.
We have 15 restaurants open in that region today, and the brand really resonates well when we deliver on standard the same execution and same menu that we have in the United States.