Professional MMA fighter Keith Lee’s love for reviewing and discussing all things food has changed the trajectory of his life. The boxer is better known for reviewing offerings from brand-new eateries (and breathing life into struggling businesses in the process) than he is for knocking people out.
With a whopping 10.9 million followers on TikTok, Lee’s become a significant marketing player in the food industry, and companies have taken notice. One of them is Chipotle, which has partnered with Lee to officially offer the custom quesadilla order that went viral on TikTok after he shared the hack.
Aptly dubbed the “Keithadilla,” its release sparked debate among some of Lee’s fans: many said the chain jacked up the item’s price simply because it was associated with Lee’s name. The Daily Dot reached out to Chipotle for comment on these customer claims, to which the brand replied that “the information is incorrect as our quesadilla pricing has not changed.”
But now a TikTok user has shared a screenshot of what appears to be an online/app ordering page featuring the “Keithadilla.” It appears that the restaurant has set its price to $15.85, or $2.45 more than what other users said it cost during its debut.
@joshacrawf $16??? goodbye. #chipotle #keithleechipotleorder #chipotlequesadillas #keithlee #chipotlehacks #keithadilla #greenscreen ♬ Not me starting a TikTok trend purrrrr – Prestonisoverparty
TikTok user Josh Crawford (@joshacrawf) uploaded the screenshot with a text overlay that reads, “THE PRICE FOR THE NEW QUESADILLAS FROM CHIPOTLE??” A caption for the clip reads, “$16??? goodbye.”
This isn’t the first time a Chipotle customer has complained about the “Keithadilla” or the franchise’s prices. Recently, a TikToker slammed one location she visited for placing the fajita veggies that are supposed to be inside of the quesadilla on the side. Other customers expressed their shock at the rising costs of eating out at Chipotle, like one woman who paid $17 for a kid’s meal at the chain.
Chipotle’s CFO Jack Hartung has been candid about the increases in the chain’s pricing and said in February of 2023 that while the business doesn’t have plans on continually increasing the prices of its food, it hasn’t necessarily made a vow to stop them from going up.
“We don’t have any plans to dial the menu price increases back, but we don’t have any plans to raise prices either,” he told Yahoo Finance.
Although there’s been significant blowback from consumers for the marked cost-per-item spikes at the chain, it doesn’t appear as if this ire has translated to a dip in sales. In Q4 of 2022, Chipotle earned $2.2 billion, which was a whopping 11.2% increase when compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
It appears that the pricing of the “Keithadilla” and the Fajita Quesadilla Hack, which debuted on the same date, may change depending on location. When attempting to order from a standalone Chipotle outside of a shopping mall in Northern New Jersey, the Daily Dot clocked their prices at $11.50 before taxes online.
These pricing discrepancies, according to other TikTok users who responded to Crawford’s TikTok, are common.
“It’s $11 bffr,” someone said. Another wrote, “Mines 10.85,” while someone else claimed, “it’s $10 where I’m at.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Josh via TikTok comment and Chipotle via email.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
Source: https://www.dailydot.com/irl/chipotle-charges-16-dollars-keithadilla/
