Chipotle: When practice undercuts purpose

Reed Karaim

This event report outlines how Chipotle, the restaurant chain, survived a brand crisis.

In 2015, Chipotle – the Mexican-influenced quick-service restaurant chain – put the value of purpose-driven marketing, a strategy at the core of its brand identity, to the test.

It's an experiment the company would like to have avoided.

In that year, Chipotle – which promotes itself as a fresh, environmentally- and socially-conscious alternative to other fast-food offerings – was tied to five different outbreaks of food poisoning that impacted more than 500 people around the United States. The reports went viral, generating a storm of negative publicity.

"For a company that's supposed to be about food with integrity, when you're...

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