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Shantelle Nagarajan

posted on Oct. 04, 2024 at 1:35 pm

A deep dive into Chipotle’s launch in the Middle East

Shantelle Nagarajan

posted on Oct. 04, 2024 at 1:35 pm

Campaign Middle East speaks with Alshaya's CEO John Hadden to understand the strategy behind Chipotle's launch in the Middle East.

Chipotle’s launch in Dubai. From left: John Hadden, CEO, Al Shaya; Chief Business Development Officer Nate Lawton; Shahram Shamsaee, Chief Executive Officer, Merex Investment.

On Wednesday, 2 October, Chipotle opened its doors in Dubai with the launch of its first store in the UAE at The Beach in Jumeirah Beach Residences (JBR).

The American Mexican-grill fast food chain partnered with international franchise retail operator Alshaya Group, and Merex Investment, a joint venture between Dubai Holding and Brookfield Asset Management, to bring the brand to the UAE.

Alshaya first introduced the brand to the region i

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Tags:Alshaya Brand Chipotle Chipotle's launch CX dining Dubai JBR John Hadden Merex Investments Middle East restaurants Strategy

the authorShantelle Nagarajan

Shantelle Nagarajan is Campaign Middle East’s Junior Reporter who covers marketing news which focuses on FMCG, real estate and brand retail industries. Her features delve into brand strategy, appointments, trends in consumer behaviour and CX. Shantelle also contributes to social media coverage, editorial event programming and print content work. She previously worked in PR and marketing, most recently at Edelman, where she was part of the Brand team. When she’s not writing for her day job, you can find her with her nose buried in a book, playing at a weekly open mic night or doom-scrolling the latest make-up challenges on TikTok.