- Arizona Cardinals player J.J. Watt called out Chipotle for shrinking burrito sizes on Twitter.
- Some customers have been complaining about Chipotle's portion sizes for years.
Some Chipotle customers have complained about the chain's portion sizes for years, and now they have a famous athlete on their side.
Pro-bowler and Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt tweeted Sunday "Burritos have been getting smaller…," writing that he wanted to "open dialogue" with Chipotle. Watt included a photo of his wrapped burrito in his hand.
—JJ Watt (@JJWatt) December 11, 2022
"We want big burritos back," he wrote, adding hashtags including "Burrito justice," "Still hungry," and "This is supposedly double meat."
At the time of writing, the tweet has accumulated over 4100 retweets, nearly 60,000 likes, and just under 3,000 replies. Many of those replies are other customers showing off small burritos that say they got from Chipotle.
Customers have taken to Twitter before to show off tiny serving sizes and small burritos with dollar bills, rulers, and beer cans for size references. Chipotle did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment, but the chain responded to reports of skimpy orders in 2021.
"Guests of Chipotle have the opportunity to completely customize their meal in restaurants by vocalizing their desired portions, or digitally selecting extra, light, normal or on the side when choosing from the list of real ingredients," Chief Corporate Affairs Officer Laurie Schalow told Insider in a statement. "We are not experiencing any supply-chain shortages, and Chipotle receives an abundance of praise for the incredible value its entrees offer with responsibly sourced ingredients chopped or grilled fresh daily."
Since COVID-19 prompted more people to order digitally, Chipotle has been able to gather more precise data about ingredient costs and customer ordering. In September 2020, CFO Jack Hartung said workers were "more consistent on portioning" with digital orders, eliminating the potential for variance depending on the customer and person working.
If its portion sizes are getting smaller, Chipotle wouldn't be the only retailer to do so. Retail brands are increasingly turning to "shrinkflation" to avoid scaring off customers with higher prices, instead keeping prices the same for smaller packages and less product.
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