Chipotle's portion inconsistency exposed by Wells Fargo analyst in extensive New York City study

Chipotle executives have consistently denied that the restaurant chain has a portion problem, but an analysis by Wells Fargo suggests otherwise.

In an attempt to finally "put the 'weight debate' to rest," Wells Fargo analyst Zachary Fadem and his team purchased and weighed 75 burrito bowls, as detailed in a note this week. The analysts conducted their "study" at eight different Chipotle locations in New York City , with half of the orders placed digitally and the other half in person.

The study revealed that the weights of the bowls were wildly inconsistent. According to the Thursday note, the median bowl ordered online and in-person weighed roughly the same, but the weight of the burrito bowls varied drastically within each category. For in-person orders, the heaviest bowl weighed 47 percent more than the lightest, reports Fortune.

The weight discrepancy was even greater for digital orders, with the heaviest bowl weighing 87 percent more than the lightest bowl. At 13.8 ounces, the smallest burrito bowl weighed just slightly more than the average soda can.

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Interestingly, it seems there's at least one New York City Chipotle that might be best avoided, as the analysts discovered that many of the 10 lightest bowls came from the same unnamed store. All 10 were also digital orders. "While throughput is improving, order consistency remains an opportunity," the analysts noted in a Thursday report.

Chipotle has recently faced criticism on social media for allegedly serving smaller portion sizes. A rumor, which Chipotle refuted, suggested that the chain had instructed its staff to serve larger portions to customers who were filming them, leading to a surge of videos on social media platforms, particularly TikTok.

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In an interview with Fortune last month, Chipotle's CEO Brian Niccol denied that the portion sizes had decreased. He did, however, suggest that customers could signal to employees if they wanted more in their burritos.

Steve Ells, the founder and former CEO of Chipotle, echoed this sentiment on Wednesday. Speaking at the Wall Street Journal Global Food Forum, he insisted that the restaurant chain's portions have not reduced and claimed that they have been "quite generous".

Quartz reported his comments. Ells stated: "I've never experienced someone walking out of a Chipotle hungry in my 30 some odd years, I mean, it just doesn't happen," He added: "So those who complain about portion sizes, I'm not sure I quite get it, but I understand it's a thing out there."

Despite the controversy over the varying bowl sizes, Laurie Schalow, Chipotle's chief corporate affairs officer, said that such variability is completely normal due to the way the restaurant serves its orders.

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"Similar to others in the fast-casual industry, our completely customizable meals may have variability in their size or weight depending upon the number of ingredients a guest selects or if they choose to make an ingredient extra or light when ordering from our list of real ingredients in-person or digitally," stated Schalow in comments to Fortune.

Despite debates on serving sizes, Wells Fargo reports that Chipotle sees rising foot traffic, bar a hiccup last month, maintaining a positive outlook on the shares. The firm's in-store visitors for the quarter are peaking over the past 10 quarters, as per the bank's findings.

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