Chipotle Brings Out the Big Guns for Gen Alpha: A Partnership With a 16-Year-Old Creator

American fast-casual chain Chipotle has launched its first creator-branded offer within its kids' menu lineup, this time in partnership with 16-year-old YouTube star Salish Matter.

The digital-only offer includes a kids' cheese quesadilla, white rice, black beans, guacamole, chips, and chocolate milk. Matter is promoting it on her Instagram, and the offer will also appear on menu boards at Chipotle locations in Los Angeles. Through September 4, five fans who post about their order using #SalishxChipotle can win a trip to Los Angeles to eat with Matter and create content together.

The move is Chipotle's attempt to extend a "personalized meal" strategy that has already worked well with Gen Z to a younger audience — Gen Alpha (defined by some researchers as teens up to age 16 who've grown up fully immersed in digital media). Salish makes family content with her father, photographer Jordan Matter, whose YouTube channel has more than 37 million subscribers; videos typically run as 30-minute episodes and rack up tens of millions of views. Salish is also co-founder of Sincerely Yours, a skincare brand aimed at teens.

Chipotle's senior vice president of brand marketing, Stephanie Perdue, explained the partnership: "Authenticity matters when connecting with Gen Alpha, and Salish's real connection to Chipotle made this an easy choice. This generation increasingly discovers brands through the creators they already love." Salish had organically mentioned Chipotle in her content before. She's now the youngest creator to get a digital-menu order named after her at Chipotle — Shawn Mendes, Miley Cyrus, and athletes Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges have done similar tie-ups before her.

The move isn't random: a HarrisX and Allison Worldwide study found 91% of surveyed parents say their Gen Alpha kids influence household brand choices, with girls significantly outpacing boys in driving purchase decisions — 67% versus the rest.

For Chipotle, the strategy is part of a broader push out of a slump: comparable sales rose 2.2% in the second quarter, the chain's best result since late 2024, helped by a menu refresh and a relaunched loyalty program.