There were very few things we coveted in the '90s as much as a good scratch-and-sniff sticker. The wisest among us knew you had to be conservative with all that scratching to make the smells last, and only dared wear the sticker on a momentous and worthy occasion, knowing it would lose its magic fast. Well, it turns out you can relive that glorious burden of childhood, because Chipotle is giving away scratch-and-sniff stickers on its website on Oct. 10 — stickers that legitimately, Beyoncé as my witness, smell like Chipotle food.
The batch of stickers is being released in celebration of 100 million views of Chipotle's Giphy stickers on Instagram and Snapchat, all of which any true burrito lover has liberally abused across social media in the Year Of Our Aggressive GIF Usage 2018. Now you can treat yourself to a real-life version of the GIF, via these limited edition stickers. But act fast, y'all — much like the line at Chipotle, this offer is moving fast. Once Chipotle runs out of the stickers, they'll be out for good.
Bustle had the opportunity to sample these scratch-and-sniff stickers firsthand, and boy howdy, the whole "it smells like Chipotle!" bit is not an exaggeration. The stickers come in three varieties.
Smoky Adobo
This sticker version of an emotionally accurate location tag is Smoky Adobo, and, according to Chipotle, "evocative of roasted jalapeno," with smelling notes of "smoky, fiery, and sweet". It also has the potential make a grown woman who may or be typing this sentence feel irrationally hungry for Chipotle chips.
Roasted Cumin
Side note: def worth exploring this as a scratch-and-sniff tattoo option, whenever the technology becomes available. This scent is "evocative of aromatic spices," according to Chipotle, with smelling notes of "spicy, smoky, and earthy". It will also make you very much want a side of guac, stat.
Flaming Chili
For those of you who like it hot, this sticker is evocative of "smoldering peppers," and has smelling notes of "peppery, fiery, and bright". This one definitely seems to have the strongest scent, if your plan is to scratch-and-sniff your way into office notoriety the way I have been with these stickers all day.
The final verdict on these is that if you do plan to take advantage of this offer, do it knowing that the moment you scratch these, you will also have to scratch the immediate itch for Chipotle that follows. I thought this would be unappetizing, but I am now eating those words as I attempt not to eat these stickers.
Turns out this is the ideal time for some of us to head to Chipotle anyway — the chain is testing a rewards program in several markets, with the intention of launching it nationwide in 2019. Perks will include free chips and guac, so you'll be able to physically hold them in your hands and eat them, rather than just scratching and sniffing!
That being said — the scratch-and-sniff stickers are bound to go fast. Get yours by heading to Chipotle's website here, and happy scratching!
