Good news for the back-to-school crowd: Chipotle now delivers to some college campuses, thanks to a partnership with the mobile ordering app Tapingo. Sure, we already knew about the Tex Mex chain's partnerships with Postmates and OrderUp; as is the case with most sharing economy delivery services, though, each of those options has its drawbacks — mainly, which cities they operate in. The Tapingo/Chipotle pairing, however, caters specifically to college students, opening up a whole new market for on-demand deliciousness.
The announcement came earlier today via a press release that likely delighted 18-to-22-year-old burrito lovers everywhere. “Chipotle has been popular with students going back to our very first restaurant near the University of Denver, and we are always look for ways to better engage with them,” said Chipotle Chief Creative and Development Officer Mark Crumpacker in the release; he continued, “Tapingo, which has been well received by students where its services are available, knows how to connect with these younger customers.” You can see how this connection with the younger crowds made them an excellent choice for Chipotle's college student-focused delivery idea, right?
Patrick sure can.
Tapingo, which was founded in 2012 and works specifically with college campuses, announced back in April that it had raised $22 million in venture capital funding. Initially the app functioned similarly to Starbucks' order-ahead system: Just open up the app, find a local restaurant that works with Tapingo, place your order, and pay. Then, when you get to the restaurant, all you have to do is pick up your food. It also uses machine learning, which enables it to make suggestions for you the more you use it. The apps success in food pickup later resulted in an expansion into delivery and retail — and if the partnership with Chipotle is anything to go by, business is booming.
As for where you can get Chipotle/Tapingo delivery? I have good news and bad news. Let's start with the bad news: Right now, the service is only available at six schools (Arizona State University, California State University Chico, Lousiana State University, the University of Arizona, the University of Southern California, and Northern Arizona University). But although the good news doesn't solve the problem immediately, it does bode well for the future: There are plans to roll the service out at almost 40 more schools all over the country later this fall. And after that? Well, the sky is metaphorically the limit; according to the press release, they're hoping to deliver to 100 campuses by spring of 2016.
Tapingo is available for both iOS and Android devices — and, of course, it's free (we're talking about a college student-focused app, remember?). Go ahead and download it — and while you're doing that, I'm going to go get some tacos. Because guess what happens when you write about Chipotle at lunchtime? Taco cravings like whoa.
Images: chipotlemexicangrill/Instagram; Giphy (2)
