Chipotle Turned This Viral Fan Hack Into A Real Menu Item

Chipotle fans have been seasoning up their chips for years and the restaurant has finally decided to make things official. The viral chip trend is getting its own menu item, and it has a name that tells customers pretty much everything they need to know about it: Chili Lime Chips.

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The new chips are coming to Chipotle for a limited time, with Rewards members getting the first taste, while everyone else can order them  a few days later.

Fans Are Getting What They Asked For

Chipotle’s regular tortilla chips have already had plenty of fans, but some customers wanted something with more flavor. That led to a trend of pairing seasoned chips with Chipotle meals.

The trend really took off online. Chipotle says mentions of seasoned chips being paired with its entrées have climbed more than 1,500% across social platforms since 2022. Content around the trend on TikTok and Instagram has also pulled in around 96 million engagements.

At that point, Chipotle had a pretty good reason to pay attention. Rather than leaving the hack in the hands of customers, the chain decided to make its own version. Chili Lime Chips take the idea that fans were already playing around with and turn it into an official Chipotle offering.

Chipotle says the Chili Lime Chips are made with real lime and chili peppers and no artificial ingredients.

Chili Lime Chips Are Already Getting Attention

The official nationwide launch is on September 4th, but Rewards members can start getting it on August 31st.

But way before its official launch,some Chipotle customers have already gotten their hands on the new chips during testing.

Photos and reviews started popping up on Reddit months before the September launch. In March, one customer posted about finding Chili Lime Chips at select Chipotle restaurants in California.

The early reactions have been pretty interesting. Some customers compared the flavor to spicy snack chips, while others focused on the heavy lime flavor. One recent Reddit post from someone who claims to be a Chipotle employee even sparked a discussion over what the chips taste like, with some saying it tastes like Takis and others saying it’s like dry ramen seasoning.

Clearly, the social media has opinions. Soon, the rest of the country gets a chance to decide for itself.

Rewards Members Get First Dibs

Chili Lime Chips will be available to Rewards members starting August 31st and the nationwide launch follows on September 4th.

Chili Lime Chips are only around for a limited time, but I think it would be interesting to see whether it would become the next fan favorite or whether customers will go right back to creating their own secret Chipotle hacks.