Burrito lovers can fill up today – April 4 is National Burrito Day!
And they can do so using the first-ever mobile app from Fat Bastard Burrito, the Ontario-born quick service restaurant (QSR) founded more than ten years ago.
The new Fat Bastard Burrito mobile app is a convenient way to skip the line and order ahead.
Fat Bastard, its parent company MBI Brands, and cloud-based customer engagement and business insights platform company Givex Canada are development partners on the specialty QSR chain’s first-ever mobile app, now available on the Apple and Google Play stores for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.
Menu items like burritos, tacos, and more can be ordered ahead of time for in-store pickup or delivery, and app-using burrito lovers can earn points to redeem on future orders while taking advantage of app-only deals and promotions.
In addition to earning points and rewards by signing up, customers can get a free burrito (small size) and a reward of 100 free points on their birthday! And today, being a designated day of national celebration, special in-store promotions are available at all Fat Bastard Burrito locations.
A Fat Bastard loyalty program allows guests to earn points they can collect and use for future purchases.
“Our new app offers a convenient way for our guests to order their food [that’s] more affordable than using a third-party delivery app (examples include Uber, DoorDash, Skip),” said Jeff Barlow, Chief Marketing Officer of MBI Brands, Fat Bastard’s parent company. “And our loyalty program allows guests to earn points on their purchases that they can collect and use for future free items.”
Other described benefits of the app include a favourite meals list for fast pick-up and delivery orders; a way to review past purchases, and a gift card management tool for checking balances, adding money, or even transferring balances between cards.
There have been other mobile apps, connected with other well-known Canadian food outlets, that were found to be in contravention of privacy laws or policies. Asked about the associated privacy policy and use of any gathered data in this new app, Barlow noted that “Fat Bastard Burrito takes our customers privacy seriously and [we] do not share personal information with third parties for third-party marketing or advertising purposes.”
Not an issue when the first burrito rolled out: one of the earliest historical mentions of a burrito appeared in the so-called Dictionary of Mexicanisms back in 1895, and as the foodstuff’s popularity grew in and around Guanajuato and Guerrero, Mexico, the dish eventually made its way north of the border and began appearing on menus in southern California in the 1930s.
There’s actually a burrito (the word means small donkey – a burro is a donkey – and as a food name, it may reference the bedrolls and blankets a donkey would carry) recipe in the famous 1934 Mexican Cookbook by Erna Fergusson.
Today, burritos are much larger than the originals, there are many ingredients, and even multiple family members: frozen burritos were first sold in 1964. Fried burritos were dubbed chimichangas. Breakfast burritos, a tortilla stuffed with bacon, potatoes, chili, and cheese, were introduced some ten years ago.
Fast Bastard Burrito will have app-only offers throughout the year.
Fat Bastard Burrito, now with burritos, quesadillas, tacos, and loaded waffle fries among other items on the menu, was founded in 2010. From its first locale in Toronto, the chain has grown consistently, with more than 85 locations now in operation or development throughout Ontario and Newfoundland. It was nearly two years ago that MBI Brands announced it had acquired Fat Bastard Burrito and would combine it and another Canadian quick service restaurant chain, Mary Brown’s Chicken, to create one of the country’s largest privately held quick-service restaurant companies. MBI Brands has over 350 restaurants in Canada with dozens more set to open, including international expansion in the UK, Ireland, and Mexico.
Givex Canada is part of a global cloud-based customer engagement and business insights platform, and a development partner for the new FB burrito app. Its digital wallet service provides omnichannel POS, gift card, loyalty and stored value ticketing solutions to more than 120,000 locations in 100 countries.
“Our new app is quick and easy to use, offers the same price and menu as what’s offered in store, and offers some great perks when customers first register,” Barlow described, adding that there will be additional app-only offers and menu items throughout the year.
Perhaps making every day a national burrito day.
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Food items from Fat Bastard Burrito menu including bowls and wraps.
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