• by Tanya Gazdik , June 2, 2024

Chipotle is clapping back against social media reviews alleging that its portion sizes are succumbing to shrinkflation. 

The company's CEO, Brian Niccol, tells Fortune how customers can get more food. 

“One of the things I think is great about Chipotle is if you come into the restaurant and you want a little more rice or you want a little more pico [de gallo],” says Niccol, who then demonstrates the tactic by nodding his head, “usually our guys and women give them a little more scoop.”

Niccol says big portions are part of the image of the brand: “It’s kind of who we are.

“We always want to give people big portions that get them excited about the food,” he said. “If you want to double the amount of meat, you gotta pay for it, but our goal is to get people really excited about what I believe is really delicious food.”

The suggestions come as consumers are criticizing the brand across  social media platforms. 

“Hundreds of customers who have taken to Reddit and TikTok with their gripes about the chain seem to think otherwise,” according to Yahoo Finance. “On the Chipotle subreddit, one user wrote, ‘I used to eat Chipotle 2-3x a week. I haven’t been in a year. It’s inconsistent, expensive, and the portions are terrible.’”

Popular TikTok reviewer Keith Lee, who has more than 16 million followers, is one of the detractors.

Lee "said that he no longer appreciates Chipotle the way he used to,” according to USA Today. “In Lee's May 3 video with over 2 million views, he gives disappointing reviews for a bowl and a quesadilla, commenting on its taste and quality. Lee continues to say that it's a struggle to find any chicken and that there were only a few pieces at the very bottom of the bowl.”

"Where the chicken at?" he says. "This is how you know I'm not lying. I'm literally looking for a piece of chicken."