A job post stopped my scroll the other day.

Not because I wanted it. In fact, I would never take it.

The title read: Brand Manager – Core Menu, Chipotle.

On paper, that’s a perfectly respectable role. Probably a well-paid one. Probably one that comes with PowerPoints, roadmaps, brand guidelines, test kitchens, consumer panels, and a very tidy LinkedIn headline.

And yet, the moment I saw the phrase “Core Menu,” I laughed out loud.

Because if you’ve ever walked into ANY Mexican food restaurant — not just Chipotle — you already know the “core menu.”

After spending the last year and a half living in southern Mexico and Guatemala, I’ve come to a very simple conclusion: every Mexican meal is some variation of the same building blocks.

Flour tortillas or corn tortillas.
Hard, soft, flat, round, curved, thick, thin, fried, baked, warmed.
Meat, vegetables, toppings.
Stuffed, rolled, filled, layered, folded, or stacked.

I’m joking… but I’m also not.

That’s not a criticism of Mexican food — it’s actually what makes it brilliant. A simple system of ingredients that can be endlessly recombined into something new.

Which brings me back to Chipotle.

Chipotle already understands this on a basic level. Their entire business is built on modular ingredients arranged in different formats: bowl, burrito, tacos, salad.

From a product standpoint, it’s elegant.
From a marketing standpoint, it’s safe.
From a cultural standpoint… it’s boring.

Because here’s the part Chipotle has never fully embraced:
Their “Secret Menu.”

Spend five minutes on TikTok and you’ll see what I mean. (And good luck stopping at five — that app is a psychological trap.)

Creators aren’t just eating Chipotle. They’re hacking it.

They’re inventing new combinations, remixing orders, stacking ingredients in weird ways, testing limits, and sharing their creations with millions of people. There are “Chipotle burrito hacks,” “Chipotle bowl builds,” and insider tricks that feel more like an underground speakeasy than a fast-casual chain.

That is not accidental behavior.
That is a cultural signal.

Right now, Chipotle treats the “secret menu” like a nuisance or a side effect. But in reality, it is one of the most powerful examples of Customer-centric Marketing sitting in plain sight.

So let me ask the obvious question:
What if the brand stopped pretending the secret menu didn’t exist?

What if, instead of fighting it, Chipotle built a system around it?

Here’s how I would reinvent Chipotle’s menu — not as a product manager, but as a Customer-centric CMO.

The Idea: A “Secret Menu Membership”

Instead of Chipotle treating TikTok creators as freeloaders or brand hijackers, what if Chipotle turned their website into a platform for the secret menu?

Not a loyalty app.
Not a coupon program.
Not another generic rewards system.

A Secret Menu MEMBERSHIP

This wouldn’t be like Jack in the Box Rewards or the Carl’s Jr. app, where you earn points to save a few dollars. That’s transactional, boring, and forgettable.

This would be something fundamentally different.

Imagine a digital space where creators could:
• Build and name their own secret menu items
• Share their recipes publicly
• Gather followers around their creations
• Earn recognition for popular builds
• Compete in creative challenges
• Get featured by Chipotle
• Influence what ingredients appear in stores

Chipotle already has the “core menu.” That’s their palette.

THE CUSTOMERS — ESPECIALLY CREATORS — ARE THE ARTISTS.

Instead of Chipotle deciding what innovation looks like, they would let their customers innovate on their behalf.

That is Customer-centric Marketing in its purest form.

Instead of the brand screaming its message at the world, the brand gives its customers a stage — and the customers bring the audience.

Turning a TikTok Trend into a Cultural Movement

Right now, the secret menu is chaotic. It lives in fragmented videos, comment sections, and hacks passed around like whispered rumors.

If Chipotle built a formal home for it, something interesting would happen.

The secret menu would stop being a fad and start becoming a subculture.

Creators would feel ownership.
Fans would participate.

Chipotle would become less of a restaurant and more of a creative ecosystem.

To keep things exciting, I wouldn’t even roll out new full menu items. That’s old-school marketing thinking — big launches, big campaigns, big spend, big risk.

Instead, I would randomly drop a single new ingredient into the system.

Pickled red onions.

Mint.

A different chili oil.
A new salsa variant.

No recipes. No marketing campaign. No fanfare.

Just an ingredient — quietly added to the lineup.

Then sit back and watch creators lose their minds.

They would experiment. They would debate. They would make videos. They would create new “official” secret menu items. And Chipotle would get free, organic, high-quality content in return.

That is not advertising.
That is culture.

Why This Is Customer-Centric Marketing
Most brands approach innovation like this:

WHY THIS IS CUSTOMER-CENTRIC MARKETING

Most brands approach innovation like this:
They spend months in research.
They test with focus groups.
They design a product.
They build a campaign.
They launch it with ads.

They pray it works.

That is slow, expensive, and disconnected from real human behavior.

Customer-centric Marketing flips that entire model.

Instead of designing for the customer, you design with them.

Instead of telling people what they should want, you empower them to create what they already want.

Instead of spending millions to push a message, you build a platform where your customers pull attention toward you.

This is exactly how Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok operate. They don’t “market” in the traditional sense. They give people a place to self-promote — and in doing so, they grow.

Chipotle has the same opportunity, right now, with its secret menu.

COMING FULL CIRCLE

So no — I would never want the job of Brand Manager: Core Menu

Even the title sounds soul-sucking.

That role would trap me in a cycle of tweaking existing products, optimizing margins, and debating the perfect ratio of rice to beans.

But using Customer-centric Marketing, I would ignore most of that and lean into what’s already happening organically: creators hacking the menu on TikTok.

I wouldn’t fight the behavior.

I would amplify it.
I would formalize it.
I would reward it.

And I would let it carry the brand.

If Chipotle is reading this — let’s talk.

If you are a business owner wondering how to apply this thinking to your own brand — let’s talk.

And if you run a marketing team, here’s your litmus test:
Ask them, “What is your marketing philosophy?”

If you get a blank stare…call me.