Here’s Why Chipotle’s Tortillas Are Getting More Expensive

When it comes to Chipotle, there are only two facts we know to be constant in the universe: The guac always costs extra, and the price of their burritos is slowly increasing. About a year ago, we saw their first price increase in three years. Now another menu item, their tortillas, might be seeing a price hike as well.

Yesterday the company was reported as spending more money on their tortillas, which may lead to customers feeling that increase in their wallet. However, it isn’t all bad news — the tortillas are getting more expensive because they are getting healthier.

The tortillas are the only food item on Chipotle’s menu that have preservatives. In their constant quest to improve their ingredients, the company is making moves to lower the amount of additives in their tortillas and to switch to organic, unbleached and unenriched flour. Chris Arnold, a spokesman for the chain, explained:

“We are always working to improve the quality of the ingredients we use, including our tortillas, and sometimes those improvements have incremental costs.”

Chipotle has been phasing out some of their initial ingredients for less processed ones, coinciding with their marketing campaign against rival food chains that use heavily processed ingredients. Mark Crumpacker, Chipotle’s chief creative officer, explained to Bloomberg:

“There are more than 800 artificial ingredients, preservatives and processing aids used in processed foods […] In fact, there are 85 ingredients in a single fast-food burrito served by one of our competitors.”

Don’t be surprised if that Chipotle burrito gets a little more expensive at some point — at least it’s getting a little better for you.

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