Step 5 is the one that we as the general public are most aware of- product consumption. This is the penultimate step in Chipotle’s commodity chain and is their primary source of income as a company, and because of this they format their entire company and commodity chain in order to be most appealing to these end-users. In order to continue the positive and progressive themes they build their company on, Chipotle pays its entry level workers an average of $10/hour, which is well above the national average for fast and fast casual chains (Leber). At the end of the day, all of extra work put into sourcing local and GMO free ingredients is paid for by the consumer, but Chipotle’s success has allowed it to continue its positive trends because it knows the market will continue to pay for the extra work. This has also led to consistent growth in the number of Chipotle restaurants in the nation in recent years, as shown in the map linked below.
Click here to see a related map.