Restaurant Brands Open Virtual Storefronts to Appeal to Gen Z Consumers

Chipotle Mexican Grill is extending commerce opportunities into the video game world, enabling real purchases with in-game currency.

On Tuesday (Apr. 5), the fast-casual chain, which operates nearly 3,000 locations across five countries, announced the launch of its “Chipotle Burrito Builder” in the gaming platform Roblox, enabling consumers to exchange in-game “Burrito Bucks” for real restaurant purchases.

“We’ve tapped into play-to-earn, an emerging engagement model in the metaverse, to launch our newest experience on Roblox that celebrates the iconic Chipotle burrito,” Chris Brandt, the restaurant’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement. “We’re blending the metaverse and real-world elements of our brand to take the Chipotle fan experience to a whole new level.”

The restaurant company first entered the Roblox space in October 2021. This addition, however, marks the first time that users can pay for their meals with the game’s currency.

By opening a location in the game, Chipotle extends the opportunities for commerce beyond its own app and website and beyond the third-party marketplaces consumers turn to when they are specifically looking to purchase food. The move enables the brand to drive sales not only when consumers are looking to make purchases but also in the course of consumers’ leisure routines.

In the news release, the brand stressed the potential of moves such as these to extend Chipotle’s appeal to millennials to a Gen Z audience.

Certainly, Roblox attracts a young demographic. In the game company’s S-1 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in November 2020, the company noted that, in the first three quarters of that year, 54% of the company’s users were under the age of 13. While the share of users in their teens and early twenties is growing, the game continues to appeal to a younger audience.

“In the U.S. market, generally what we’re seeing right now and we expect to see in the next few years is that growth will be defined primarily by older users, and those numbers grow the user base,” Roblox Chief Financial Officer Mike Guthrie told analysts on a call in February discussing the game’s Q4 2021 earnings. “If I look at 13-to-16 and 17-to-24, those growth rates are pretty high right now.”

The news comes at a time when brands are looking for ways to expand their digital presences into more immersive experiences. On Wednesday (March 30), for instance, major quick-service restaurant (QSR) chain Wendy’s announced the opening of a digital location in Meta’s Horizon Worlds VR space.

“We’re excited to take this to the next level by launching the Wendyverse in Meta’s Horizon Worlds and bringing a totally new dimension of access to our fans,” Carl Loredo, chief marketing officer for The Wendy’s Company, said in a statement.

Related news: Wendy’s Announces VR Location as QSRs Race for Metaverse Primacy

Additionally, in February, news broke that McDonald’s and Panera Bread had filed trademark applications suggesting intentions to open Metaverse locations, and the same month, New York-based online ordering solutions provider Lunchbox announced that had sold a virtual restaurant on the non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace to a New York-based burger chain, Bareburger.

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