Chipotle joins growth field of food-startup incubators
Chipotle Mexican Grill is launching a business incubator to help food entrepreneurs grow their companies.
Participants in the seven-month program will participate a boot camp and be mentored by industry leaders, including restaurateur and urbanfarming entrepreneur Kimbal Musk and Bravo’s “Top Chef All-Stars” winner Richard Blais.
The Chipotle Aluminaries Project will begin accepting applications Sept. 12 from businesses and not-forprofit organizations in the fields of alternative farming, agriculture technology, food waste and recovery, and plant and alternative products.
“Chipotle has been committed to the future of food with integrity since opening our first restaurant 25 years ago,” CEO Brian Niccol said in a statement. “Since then, we’ve changed how customers and the industry think about food, and as part of our mission to cultivate a better world, we’re looking for the next generation of entrepreneurs who are disrupting the food landscape.”
The chain is the latest in a long line of large companies interested in helping smaller ones – from the food business incubator Kraft Heinz launched in March to the eponymous Chobani one to the craft-beer-focused program A&S Brewing, created by the Boston Beer Co., the maker of Sam Adams. Startups benefit from coaching and big-league resources, while industry titans are able to monitor – and possibly invest in – hot new ideas bubbling up.
Unchartered, a nonprofit dedicated to helping businesses scale, is running the Chipotle Aluminaries Project, the restaurant chain explained.
The organization is based in Chipotle’s hometown of Denver, although Niccol is moving the headquarters to California.
Chipotle hired Blais last September to head up its 11-month-old burger concept, Tasty Made, but closed its only location – in Lancaster, Ohio – this past winter.
The chain recently has had to deal with bad publicity, stemming from concerns about contaminated food.
This summer, close to 650 customers got sick after eating at one of its Ohio locations.
Last week, Chipotle said it was going to retrain all of its restaurant staffers nationwide on food safety.