The surprising reason why Chipotle is offering free burritos to Hinge users
If your Hinge date takes you to Chipotle, don’t feel too flattered: The food was free. On Thursday, dating app Hinge announced a new promotion with Chipotle in which Hinge members get a free burrito. (No word on extra guac charges.)
Starting today through the end of year, Hinge users can buy one entree item, then get one item free at participating Chipotle locations. Members redeem the promotion through the app or though a unique code emailed to users.
According to a press release provided to Fast Company, tasty Mexican food is very much part of dating culture. Hinge’s research found that profiles that mentioned queso were up to 70% more likely to receive a “like” than profiles that didn’t, while out of all Chipotle ingredients mentioned during Hinge conversations, chatting about chorizo led to the most dates.
To see if you two are compatible, dating apps should show you someone’s Chipotle order.
— Chipotle (@ChipotleTweets) December 11, 2018
Chipotle needs this promotion to perform better than past ones. This past summer, the fast-casual restaurant was overwhelmed by consumers looking to partake in its free guacamole promotion for National Avocado Day. The company didn’t fully calculate how much people love their guac, resulting in a halt of the promotion. Chipotle called the event “internet-breaking,” which only further infuriated its audience. (Rival chain Qdoba jumped on the opportunity to remind the public it offers free guacamole every day.)
It’s been a rough year for Chipotle following serious food safety problems that led to hundreds of customers reporting symptoms of nausea and high fever. As such, the brand has increasingly advertised promotions ranging from National Nurses Week to buy-one, get-one-free deals for parents and students (that too suffered “technical issues”).
Let’s hope they find better luck with cheap dates.
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