Chipotle Mexican Grill announced the second installment of its Cultivating Thought author series with 10 new and original essays written by influential writers, authors, and thought leaders to be featured on its cups and bags. The series began in May 2014, in partnership with New York Times best-selling author Jonathan Safran Foer (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Eating Animals, Everything is Illuminated), who curated the series from the beginning. The stories published on Chipotle’s cups and bags are meant to entertain while exposing readers to some of today’s most creative, influential, and thought-provoking writers. Each cup and bag will also include unique illustrations commissioned from a range of artists.
Chipotle’s progressive approach to food and culture continues to disrupt the traditional fast-food experience. This new installment of authors represent a global perspective, including Brazilian, British, and Spanish writers, as well as American writers whose families are of Dominican, Chinese, Polish, and Indian descent. This author group also boasts a Pulitzer Prize winner, a world-record holder, and a stand-up comedian who hosted a sold-out show at Madison Square Garden, among other distinctions.
“While typical fast food companies use their packaging to promote new menu items or sell the space to advertisers, we have always tried to use our packaging to engage with our customers wit and intellect,” says Mark Crumpacker, chief marketing and development officer at Chipotle. “Given the response we had to the first round of the Cultivating Thought series, we are continuing the series with more authors we think our customers will enjoy.”
The list of contributors for the second installment of “Cultivating Thought” includes Julia Alvarez, Aziz Ansari, Augusten Burroughs, Paulo Coelho, Jeffrey Eugenides, Neil Gaiman, Walter Issacson, Barbara Kingsolver, Amy Tan, and Carlos Ruiz Zafó
Each writer’s work will be featured on a cup or bag in Chipotle’s restaurants. The essays are themed as two-minute readings and vary in topic and focus, representing the diversity of talent and range of perspectives of these 10 writers. The new Cultivating Thought packaging will be available in Chipotle restaurants in the coming weeks, and all 10 stories are accessible online.
