Chipotle just posted one of its secrets online

by  

Ben Geier

You no longer need to visit Chipotle for its guacamole.

Chipotle  CMG 0.47%  fans around the world, rejoice: you can now make the fast-casual chain’s guacamole recipe at home.

The company posted the recipe online this weekend, so you can get to dipping right now. All you’ll need is the following ingredients:

• 2 ripe Hass avocados
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp cilantro (chopped)
• 1/4 cup red onion (finely chopped)
• 1/2 jalapeño, including seeds (finely chopped)
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

In its most recent earnings, Chipotle  CMG 0.47% posted revenues of$1.09 billion. Chances are posting this recipe online won’t effect coming quarters too much.

Chipotle nixes genetically modified ingredients from its menu

by  

Laura Lorenzetti

Food company is the first big restaurant chain to remove the ingredients, a report says.

Chipotle Mexican Grill  CMG 0.71%  has finished removing genetically modified ingredients from its foods, making it the first big restaurant chain to do so, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The food chain has worked for more than two years to eliminate products that contain genetically modified organisms, more commonly known as GMOs. GMO crops, which are common among corn and soybeans, contain altered DNA that make the plants more resistant to pests and other environmental stresses. More than 90% of corn and soy grown in the U.S. comes from genetically modified seeds.

Many scientific groups and other proponents say these crops are safe, while critics say they cause a host of environmental ills and could even cause harm to human health. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a number of genetically modified crops.

Chipotle, which has 1,831 restaurants globally, has labeled which of its menu items contain GMO ingredients since as early as 2013. Co-CEO and founder Steve Ells said the chain has decided to eliminate these ingredients until the science is more definitive.

Amazon, Hermès, Chipotle Top Forbes Most Innovative Retailers List

Clare O'ConnorForbes Staff

Burritos and Birkin bags have more in common than you might expect. Mid-priced Mexican restaurant chain Chipotle and 177-year-old French design house Hermès both made this year’s Forbes list of the 100Most Innovative Companies in the world.

The two were among a handful of retail-focused companies to make the cut, including e-commerce giants Amazon.com AMZN -0.39% and Priceline, ubiquitous coffee house Starbucks SBUX -0.25% and ‘fast fashion’ firmsH&M and Inditex (the latter is the parent company of Spanish clothier Zara ).

While billionaire Marc Benioff’s cloud computing outfit Salesforce.com topped the list for the fourth year in a row, the world’s retail innovators weren’t far behind.

Jeff Bezos’ constantly-evolving Amazon placed 6th, while Hermès — featured on the cover of the latest issue of Forbes — came in at 13, above headline-grabbing companies Netflix (#30) and Walmex, Mexico’s Walmart (#95).

Other retailers deemed among the most innovative this year include organic powerhouse Whole Foods Market, Japanese casual clothier Fast Retailing (parent company of hip brand Uniqlo) and eyewear conglomerate Luxxotica, which owns sunglass brands Ray-Ban and Persol among others.

Forbes’ list is compiled in conjunction with the research team behind bestseller The Innovator’s DNA, co-written by famed Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen.

Far from being arbitrary or based on perceived popularity, this list ranks companies based on their so-called innovation premium: the difference between their market capitalization and a net present value of cash flows from existing businesses (based on a proprietary formula from Credit Suisse HOLT).

The difference between them is the bonus given by equity investors on the educated hunch that the company will continue to come up with profitable new growth.

To be included, firms need seven years of public financial data and $10 billion in market cap. (Facebook, for example, would be in the top ten if we used only 2012 data.)

For the full methodology behind the list, see here. For full coverage of the 100 Most Innovative Companies and to read more about what sets them apart, see here.

The Top 25 Most Innovative Companies 2014

1 of 25

Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

+show more

1. Salesforce.com

Name: Salesforce.com

Industry: Software & Programming

Country: United States

Innovation Premium: 75.9%

12-Month Sales Growth: 35.6%

5-Year Annualized Total Return: 24.1%

Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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Chipotle Has Been Secretly Growing A Pizza Chain In Denver

By ASHLEY LUTZ


Chipotle has been quietly growing a pizza chain in Denver for more than two years. 

Pizzeria Locale offers customizable pies cooked before customers' eyes in less than two minutes, and has become popular in the area, reports Patricia Calhoun at the Denver Westword Blog. 

The pizza chain was originally a traditional restaurant, until Chipotle founder Steve Ells visited two years ago, writes Sarah Nassauer at The Wall Street Journal. 

"'When I walked in, I thought, 'Oh my gosh, what if they did this in a Chipotle format?'" Ells said. 

The Mexican chain spent the next 18 months helping the pizzeria adapt to a faster format with a rotating hot oven and affordable ingredients. The new Pizzeria Locale launched in May. 

"We realized we could change the ways people think about pizza...how can we serve the same ingredients at less than half the price. Shockingly, it's worked," Ells said. 

The experience at Pizzeria Locale is similar to Chipotle, WSJ reports. 

"Diners standing in line choose from toppings like fresh mozzarella and prosciutto while watching their food being made," Nassauer writes. "Individual 11-inch pies cost around $6.50 and take a few minutes to make. Diners pay at the counter." 

So-called "better pizza" chains have been competing to get a share of the booming fast-casual market. 

For now, Pizzeria Locale is exploring the option of opening more locations in Denver. 

Here are some photos of the pizza chain: 

 

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/chipotle-partnership-with-pizzeria-2013-12#ixzz2nxDPh0zf

I Quit My High-Paying Wall Street Job To Work At Chipotle

Two years ago, Vijay Brihmadesam had a cushy finance job at a private equity firm in Palo Alto, Calif. 

But that all changed after Brihmadesam ran into Jason Pate, a former classmate at Duke University. The two happened to be on the same plane and struck up a conversation about their dissatisfaction with their jobs.

"The economy was bad at the time, so we were happy for our jobs in finance," Brihmadesam told Business Insider. "But we wanted to be doing more than the rat race of Wall Street and start contributing to the community in a way that felt meaningful to us." 

The friends came up with an idea to open a fast-casual restaurant with Indian food. When Brihmadesam got back to San Francisco, he got another friend, Hasnain Zhaidi, on board. 

"There was no cheap, convenient, place to get healthy Indian food at the time," Brihmadesam said. "I wanted to serve Indian food in a casual setting that was like what I ate growing up." 

Thus, the concept for Tava Indian Kitchen was born. 

But before launching into a completely new industry, Brihmadesam and his two friends decided they needed some on the ground experience.

 And so the trio applied to work at Chipotle.

They were hired on the assembly line and worked there for several weeks. 

"Chipotle is great because they took authentic Mexican food and made it accessible to the masses," Brihmadesam said. "I wanted Tava to do that for Indian food." 

Tava also implemented some of Chipotle's ethical sensibilities. It gets its produce from local sources and only serves hormone-free meat.

Brihmadesam's colleagues in finance didn't hold a grudge: his first investment came from Bob Gay, the co-founder Huntsman Gay, Brihmadesam's former emloyer.

By February 2012, the trio opened the first Tava Indian kitchen in Palo Alto. Six months later, they opened a second store in San Francisco.  

The restaurant has become wildly popular in the Bay Area and has received rave reviews from hundreds of people on Yelp. 

Today, Brihmadesam and his partners are working with on a plan to expand Tava. 

He says he's thrilled that he took a risk two years ago. 

"A chance encounter changed the path of my life," Brihmadesam said. "Taking the risk was scary, but I couldn't be more thrilled with my career today." 

SEE ALSO:  YOU VOTED: The Best Fast Food In America >

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/why-i-quit-my-job-to-work-at-chipotle-2013-4#ixzz2RfL36iyQ