Diners at Chipotle Mexican Grill can now score free chips and guacamole by playing an online game.
Called the Guac Hunter, the online photo hunt lets users see a series of two images that look alike and spot the differences before time runs out. A keen eyesight will reward players with a free order of chips and guacamole at any Chipotle store in the United States or Canada.
By visiting www.GuacHunter.com, one can play the game by spotting the five differences between the two photos in 45 seconds, and every wrong answer comes with a 5-second penalty. One gets a mobile offer for the free chips and guacamole for successfully finishing three rounds of the game.
The online game will take place from March 21 to 31 with the mobile offer expiring on April 10 – just enough time for the restaurant to woo its customers with their favorite item on the menu.
“For many of our customers, guacamole is one of their favorite menu items, and a meal at Chipotle isn’t complete without it,” says Mark Crumpacker, chief creative and development officer at Chipotle.
According to the company, its guacamole is hand-mashed and seasoned with freshly prepared ingredients, with each restaurant processing over 44,000 pounds of avocados every year. Chipotle claims to have served over 43 million pounds of Mexico-sourced avocados in 2015, with the country as its sole supplier at certain times of the year. Other avocado sources include California, Chile and Peru.
Last month, Chipotle offered free burritos after the closure of all its restaurants due to a company-wide meeting on food safety. The meeting followed a series of E.coli, salmonella and norovirus outbreaks linked to its food as well as a lawsuit alleging that the company misled investors about its food safety controls in place.
The string of the foodborne illness outbreaks connected to its restaurants also prompted Chipotle to revise its incentive plan and slash the bonuses of its executives.
Sales at its restaurants reportedly dropped by 26.1 percent in February, while its fourth quarter revenue last year decreased by 6.8 percent. Net income dipped by 44 percent to $67.9 million.
According to Fortune, Chipotle is pouring more money into advertising and promotions to get lost customers back.
Photo : Mike Mozart | Flickr
