Young people are starting to sour on the idea of a $17 lunch bowl that looks like a burrito was hit by a bus and thrown in a cardboard container.
Driving the news: Fast-casual restaurants like Chipotle that serve so-called “slop bowls” are seeing a huge pullback in spending, particularly among younger diners. The Mexican chain, along with its counterparts Cava and Sweetgreen, all cut their financial targets and have collectively shed ~50% of their stock value this year.
In its latest earnings call, Chipotle said its 2025 revenue will decline for just the second time in 20 years (and the first time that it wasn’t related to an E. coli outbreak).
Why it’s happening: It’s not all penny pinching; the cultural script could be flipping on the office lunch staple. As one recovering Chipotle bowl addict told Bloomberg, there’s now more resistance to the idea of “I go to the office, and I eat slop. Kind of like cattle.”
If that’s the case, it represents a serious problem for Chipotle, where burrito bowls have become its best-selling product by far.
Why it matters: Fast-casual dining can be a bellwether for how people are faring financially, particularly Gen Z and Millennials. If people feel flush, they’re more likely to drop $15 on lunch rather than making one at home. Given that over half of Chipotle’s customers are young people, the chain’s struggles paint a pretty grim affordability picture for that age group.
Bottom line: Bowls might be falling out of favour, but the value proposition of fast-casual chains — fresher, healthier food for a couple extra bucks than McDonald's — is still strong, especially with more health-conscious Gen Zers.