The popular Mexican casual food chain Chipotle Mexican Grill saw its stock prices soar on Friday by more than 15 percent, a day after representatives from the company said they would likely need to increase prices to cover supply changes to almost entirely non-GMO items for its menu.
Founder and CEO Steve Ellis said that a price increase somewhere in the 3-5% range should be expected as the company continues to search for non-GMO alternatives to its current cooking oils, corn flour and corn starch in its products. No date was given this week as to when the shift to more non-GMO ingredients would be completed in 2014, however.
Earlier this year Ellis said, “We decided we’d rather try to avoid GMO ingredients until perhaps the science is more clear,”said Ells earlier this year. “There are some things that we just can’t, today, get non-GMO.”
But the company, despite its impressive size (which has been growing due to strong customer support) has remained committed to resolving customer concerns over the GMO ingredients and will continue to pursue more alternatives.
They are also looking for more sources of antibiotic-free and hormone-free meats that are not from animals fed GMOs as well. Ellis added that it’s especially hard to ensure on a large scale that animals are not fed GMOs. If that’s the case, customers may want to choose vegetarian options when patronizing the restaurant to be sure they will be able to avoid GMOs.
Chipotle Stock Price Soars Even on News of Non-GMO Price Increase
Despite the possible price increases, stock of the company soared on Friday, with a closing rate of $510. The stock had traded in the low $200 range earlier in the year due to economic fears, but it has persevered and shown that food made from real ingredients (current GMOs notwithstanding, but at least they’re working to fix that) at a higher price can work.
Chipotle has also been spurred by an animated Internet commercial that went viral called ‘The Sacrecrow.’ You can watch the video by clicking on the picture below.
Click on the picture above to view the famous Chipotle “Scarecrow” short film.
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About Nick Meyer
