There have been a number of social media users who’ve taken to their respective platforms to slam Chipotle for what they say is a dip in quality, consistency, and portion sizes, all while the company charges customers more money for an inferior product.
One Chipotle slander video has gone particularly viral recently, where a TikTok user said that the company has been in a “downfall,” with throngs of other customers of the chain agreeing that this is the case.
Candacce (@candacce), another user on the platform, believes that Chipotle has seen this video and how much prominence it has attained. As a result, she suggests the brand is hiring Influencers to show off large-sized burrito bowls in an attempt to combat any negative press and public sentiment it is receiving as a result.
She aired these speculations in a viral TikTok that she posted to the popular social media platform that has accrued over 526,000 views as of Monday morning.
@candacce a bunch of influencers got sponsorships with chipotle but the bowls are unrealistic 😭 maybe some places fill them but all the ones i’ve been to recently were so skimpy #fyp #foryou ♬ original sound – candacce
“Whoever made that downfall of Chipotle video I’m pretty sure Chipotle saw it. Why is there all of a sudden a bunch of Influencers showing off their burrito bowls, but they’re the size of this?” Candacce asks, showing off a post with two people’s faces scribbled out. One is holding a burrito bowl showing a massive, heaping portion of meat on the bowl, indicating that this is the standard size of a burrito bowl.
Candacce says that the timeliness of influencers’ showing up on social media repping the gargantuan portion sizes to be a little too convenient, as Chipotle has been heavily criticized for the size of its meals in recent years, including customers who believe that the chain is skimping on a variety of its items, including its family meals, and online orders versus in-store purchases.
The TikToker then continues her diatribe against the Mexican-style fast-casual chain.
“Hold on, their burrito bowls do not look like this,” she says. “I know they saw that video. Chipotle you can’t pull a fast one on us like this that’s not how any of this works. Look at this! What burrito bowl have you gotten that is this full? If I go to Chipotle right now…no, you cannot convince me.”
She shows off a series of influencers proudly displaying their Chipotle offerings, and Candacce thinks that the whole recent phenomenon of folks showing off these picture-perfect burrito bowls is the brand’s attempt to gaslight customers.
“Not even these are realistic, this is still too full. I saw a burrito bowl and you couldn’t even see the top of it, it was that low in the little container,” Candacce recalls. “They saw that downfall of Chipotle video and they were like, ‘Let’s just gaslight everyone. Have influencers take pictures with huge burrito bowls.’ Also, I would bet my right pinky that the meeting they had about this whole campaign, I would bet everything that they did not address the small burrito bowls. One of their employees is like, ‘Do you wanna change like the portions, cause I saw a TikTok complaining about the portion sizes recently?’ And they’re like, ‘Nah…no.'”
Candacce concludes her video by stating, “For the content, I was gonna go to Chipotle and get a burrito bowl just to see but I am not spending $24 so I I can eat at Chipotle. You are out of your minds.”
She claimed in a caption that Chipotle intentionally launched these influencer partnerships to boast a different image of their bowls and portions. “A bunch of influencers got sponsorships with chipotle but the bowls are unrealistic maybe some places fill them but all the ones i’ve been to recently were so skimpy,” she wrote in the caption.
Several commenters responded to her video, agreeing that they, too, thought the bowls influencers were showing off in their respective social media posts were unrealistic.
“The chipotle reddit has real representation of the bowls and burritos,” one user wrote.
“I remember when the portions were huge and a bowl was $7,” another said, highlighting how many have expressed how far the franchise has fallen in terms of value.
However, there were a number of viewers who said that at the Chipotle restaurants they visit, these bowls certainly look like that, as long as they visit the store in person and don’t order online.
“My chipotle always pack my bowl,” one viewer claimed.
“YOU HAVE TO ORDER IN PERSON,” another insisted.
“When I go in person my bowls look like that. Don’t even think about ordering online tho,” a third argued.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Chipotle and Candacce via email for further comment.