Chipotle Filed a Lawsuit Against Sweetgreen Over New Menu Item — So Sweetgreen Changed the Name

Sabrina Weiss
·2 min read

The suit claims that Sweetgreen is infringing on Chipotle by calling the new item the "chipotle chicken burrito bowl"

Smith Collection/Gado/Getty
Smith Collection/Gado/Getty

Step aside, chicken sandwich wars, there's a burrito brawl happening.

Chipotle filed a lawsuit against fellow fast-casual restaurant Sweetgreen on Tuesday for trademark infringement regarding their latest menu item: a chipotle chicken burrito bowl.

"Sweetgreen is using Chipotle's famous CHIPOTLE trademark to sell a product that is very similar and directly competitive to Chipotle's chicken burrito bowl," reads the suit.

In addition to the product name including "chipotle," the burrito chain cited several other "copy-cat" elements. The lawsuit claims that the ingredients in Sweetgreen's menu item are similar to that of Chipotle's bowl ("chicken, a grain base such as rice, black beans and salsa").

sweetgreen
sweetgreen

The salad spot's burrito bowl contains blackened chicken, wild rice, cilantro, red onion, shredded cabbage, tomato, lime cilantro black beans and roasted chipotle salsa. For Chipotle's burrito bowls, the chain offers several proteins in addition to chicken, brown or white rice, black or pinto beans and a variety of toppings like guacamole, salsa, sour cream and queso.

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The suit also claims that the salad chain's advertisements for the new product resemble the fast-casual Mexican spot in the font and "adobo red" color used.

A Sweetgreen representative tells PEOPLE that "as part of a tentative agreement to resolve the lawsuit," they will change the name of the new menu item.

"In order to focus on the business and continue serving our guests without distraction, we have decided to rename our bowl to the Chicken + Chipotle Pepper Bowl," they said. "Our mission is to bring customers healthy, elevated and craveable menu items that make you feel good. We are looking forward to putting this lawsuit behind us as we continue to connect more people to real food."

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No matter the name, Sweetgreen's burrito bowl will be 50% off on Thursday, April 6, in honor of National Burrito Day. To score the deal, customers must order on the restaurant's app and use code "SGBURRITOBOWL".

Chipotle also has a National Burrito Day discount. Fans can use the code "DELIVER" when ordering online to snag a $0 delivery fee.

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