Chipotle’s Ludicrously Capacious Big Ass Bag Turned Viral Customer Memes Into a Major Marketing Win

On October 13, the restaurant announced the limited-edition launch of the Big Ass Chipotle Bag. The meal kits, which were previously called Build-Your-Own Chipotle, allow customers to create a customizable menu of tacos, salads, bowls, and nachos with their pick of proteins, sides, and toppings. The offering feeds anywhere from four to six people, making it a great option for friend hangouts, gamedays, office events, and mundane weekly meals for big families. 

The senior vice president of brand marketing at Chipotle, Stephanie Perdue, cites group occasions as a “growing part of [the] business,” adding that it’s a “convenient option” that caters to several customer needs at once. The high-fashion bag mimics the look of a giant takeout bag, which will be heavily featured in the brand’s new national advertising campaign. 

“You see this ridiculously oversized Chipotle bag and immediately get the joke. We leaned into that simplicity, treating it like a luxury object and letting the scale do the storytelling,” said Ricky Casal, chief creative officer at GUT Miami (Chipotle’s agency partner). The fast-food eatery is giving Rewards members who order a Family Meal through the Chipotle App or website the opportunity to win during four weeks of digital sweepstakes.  

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This marketing move looks a bit absurd from the outside. However, the idea brings up a deeper point in the advertising world that’s often written off by popular chains: let the customers’ jokes do the campaigning for you. This bag not only pushes the brand into a luxury market, hitting foodies and fashion heads alike, but it also taps into fans’ longest-running joke about the portion sizes—in hopes of leading to social media attention and higher sales in group meals. By making this a digital-exclusive offering, it will additionally drive fans to the restaurant’s app. 

“We took one of the most recognizable parts of the Chipotle experience, gave it an outsized upgrade, and created something that’s impossible to miss,” added Fernando Machado, chief brand officer at Chipotle. 

There will be 2,000 winners drawn each week, bringing it to a whopping total of 8,000 bags that will be given away. This campaign comes after Chipotle celebrated the 1,500th Chipotlane (the drive-thru pickup) in Florida, further increasing the chain’s footprint in North America. These recent initiatives demonstrate Chipotle’s ambition to be viewed as convenient, easily accessible, and amenable.