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NEW YORK — Chipotle is already getting into the Halloween spirit.
The fast-casual chain announced a costume collection with Spirit Halloween Wednesday, the seasonal Halloween costume store that pops up every year in abandoned storefronts. The collection is made up of bodysuits that are meant to resemble a Chipotle napkin, fork, water cup, burrito and to-go bag.
Chipotle is building off a running online joke. Two years ago, it posted a fake "Chipotle Fork" bodysuit with the caption "Found ur costume." Then last year, another fake "Chipotle Napkin" costume showed up on its Instagram.
Chipotle is not the first brand to materialize a joke. In January, Burt's Bees and Hidden Valley Ranch sold out of a set of lip balms that taste like a basket of chicken wings in a day – it originally started out as an April Fool's joke.
These gag products aren't meant to pad a corporation's bottom line or even bring in a huge amount of sales. The Chipotle Fork costume, for example, is just a plain black, polyester bodysuit.
Mostly, they're clever marketing ploys meant to garner social media attention, and Chipotle capitalized off an already popular online joke before. In 2022, it launched a lemonade-scented soy candle that looks like a water cup, poking fun at customers who fill up complimentary water cups with lemonade at the restaurant.
The costumes will go on sale starting Sept. 6 and retails for $39.99 in the U.S. and Canada. The sizes range from adult small to XL. Though the costumes will be available online for everyone, they will only be at select Spirit Halloween locations in Chicago, Denver, Egg Harbor Township, N.J., Los Angeles, and New York.
Chipotle has long been in on Halloween. Last year, it was offering $6 burritos for certain patrons on Oct. 31.
Retailers are also rolling out Halloween products earlier and earlier, suggesting the season is a sector inflation-weary customers are willing to splurge on.
"Our popular Halloween tradition, Boorito, began with a burrito-themed costume contest, and now we're taking it to the next level with the launch of our first-ever costume collection in collaboration with Spirit Halloween," said Chris Brandt, chief brand officer at Chipotle in a statement.
The collaboration comes at a pivotal time for the restaurant chain. In August, struggling Starbucks poached Chipotle's CEO Brian Niccol, who had previously and successfully turned around both Chipotle and Taco Bell. Chipotle's revenue has surged more than 800% over the past five years of Niccol's leadership.
The chain's chief operating officer, Scott Boatwright, became Chipotle's interim CEO.
