OC Business Journal

RESTAURANTS: $45B-valued Chipotle aims to be ‘brand that gets Web3’

—Kaitlin Aquino

Using crypto, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. is specifically aiming to target Gen Z and millennials in what’s referred to as the Web3 community, Chipotle Vice President of Digital Marketing and Off-Premise Tressie Lieberman tells the Business Journal.

Web3, a term coined by technologists, is what many consider the next generation of the internet. Many envision Web3 to be a decentralized and more community-driven version of the internet enabled by blockchains—digital ledgers that keep a record of participants while maintaining their anonymity.

Proponents of Web3 believe that it will free users from relying heavily on social media companies—such as Facebook’s

Meta, Twitter and YouTube—that govern the current phase of the internet, Web2. Instead, Web3 will place content in the hands of creators and users.

Critics claim the system carries extreme inefficiencies and that Web3 is simply an internet cryptorebrand that uses the same blockchain technology that encrypts and enables crypto. Moreover, the decentralization of Web3 will be countered by the inevitable resurgence of high-traffic platforms for NFTs, currency exchanges and wallet providers, according to critics.

Opportunities

Chipotle has been eyeing prominent members of the Web3 community discussing the company’s potential opportunities, Lieberman said.

In preparation for what may be the internet’s next phase, company officials created a Web3 wallet and claimed multiple ENS domains, a naming system on the Ethereum blockchain, using the Chipotle name, including officialchipotle.eth,

chipotlebowl.eth, among others. “Our push to acquire ENS domains has allowed us to be ready for what’s next, engage with our community where they are, generate positive social conversation about our Web3 efforts, and build anticipation for further activations,” Lieberman said.

A community member even gifted the company the domain “extraguac.eth,” which Chipotle celebrated by giving away free guacamole to the user’s followers on social media, according to company officials.

“We want to be known as the brand that gets Web3,” Lieberman said. “We’ll continue to explore activations that add value to this community.

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https://ocbusinessjournal.pressreader.com/article/282583086775811

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