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Photo by Kaitlyn Doyle. Chipotle restaurants now offer sofritas, more commonly known as tofu. This is a new item on the Chipotle menu. “I got my burrito for free because my dad and I were the first to try tofu at the Stillwater Chipotle,” said junior Danielle Glewwe.

When someone thinks of tofu, it has never been exactly an appetizing meal. But for some it is and according to peta.org, 2.5 percent of the United States is vegan and its still growing everyday.

Chipolte’s around the United States introduced a new burrito to their menu earlier this year by giving their traditional burrito a little twist. With the intent to please everyone and make delicious food for everyone, they decided to add “Sofritas” burritos. Their vegan, tofu burrito with nothing different but the meat inside.

“I personally would never eat it. I’m not vegan and I don’t plan on eating tofu anytime soon,” said senior Alex Herrmann.

Chipotle has more than 1600 locations and had an annual revenue of over 3.21 billion dollars in 2013. The number keep booming and costumers keep flowing in to get another delicious burrito or taco. This is why people are puzzled about why one of the most famous and world renowned restaurant chains needed to add a new and sort of interesting item to their already successful menu.

Junior Luke Burridge said, “I go to Chipotle probably on a weekly basis and I don’t really want to try a tofu burrito. I’ll stick with the steak.”

People seem to be putting a bad name to this new and possibly good tasting burrito because its on the healthier side and its not something a lot of people eat. But according to trefis.com, a website that talks specifically on the financial side of companies, “sofritas” are a trending food in other parts of the United States. It is accounting for three percent of its sales already. Catering was recently added to their menu but is only one percent of its sales right now. The stats do not lie that the tofu burrito is gaining popularity in the country.

Junior Holly Bergdahl said, “I have been a vegan for a couple of years now and I was super excited to hear about the vegan burrito coming out and I was actually going to order it last week but I didn’t end up going to Chipotle. I plan on ordering it for sure and it sounds good.”

With the number of people going vegan rising at such a high rate, this burrito may boost the sales by quite a bit. With people thinking that Chipotle is starting new trending in the food industry. They actually are not at all. Dairy Queen, which had the word “dairy” in its name even has products on its menu for vegans. The only hard part to predict is if the addition of a whole new entrée to their menu will help or hurt their business.

“I don’t think having the “sofritas” burrito will hurt the company at all. It will probably help it because it will give more options to customers.” said Herrmann.

With the world changing and people having new ideas and opinions on food and how to live life, the food industries have to flex to fit their needs. This is how Chipotle did it and it may be a very good choice in the long run for sales. Some people may not care for the burrito but many love it and vegans around the country are happy to see companies like Chipotle transition to more of a diverse menu.