Chipotle Mexican Grill has released “From Ground to Sound,” an original song recorded inside Abbey Road Studios’ Studio Two using instruments made entirely from vegetables. The composition was first featured in the final frames of Chipotle’s 100 Creators ads that premiered in August and will be used across selected Chipotle campaigns.

Every note, beat, and texture was performed using ingredients found in Chipotle restaurants. These were turned into playable instruments, including flutes made from corn, trumpets made with jalapeños, a horn made from peppers and an avocado pit, lettuce percussion, and an onion bass.

© Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle worked with the London Vegetable Orchestra, a five-member ensemble of classically trained musicians that creates and performs with instruments made from vegetables. The process involved three months of experimentation and multiple iterations to determine how ingredients such as corn, jalapeños, and bell peppers could be converted into instruments capable of producing the required notes, tones, and textures.

Fresh produce changes in shape, texture, and moisture, meaning the instruments had to be built and played at a suitable stage of ripeness and remained usable for less than a day. The musicians therefore had a limited period to assemble, tune, rehearse, and record the instruments before their sound changed.

© Chipotle Mexican Grill

“Real food has always been at the center of Chipotle. We use only 53 real ingredients, with fresh preparation happening every day in our restaurants. So we took this principle in a completely new direction: creating our own signature sound,” said Fernando Machado, Chief Brand Officer at Chipotle. “Any brand can release a song or develop a sound mnemonic. What made this worth pursuing was the chance to create a track that felt impossible to separate from Chipotle itself. The instruments, the sound and the story are all rooted in what we do every day.”

“No two vegetables ever behave exactly the same way,” said Patrick Johns of the London Vegetable Orchestra. “You can carve two identical instruments, but they can respond very differently. Part of the craft is learning not to force an ingredient to sound a certain way but to find the sound that’s already there and build the music around it.”

The composition was created by Beacon Street Studios, with creative direction from advertising agency KIDS. It was based on the concept of vegetables growing from seeds into food.

“The role of creativity is to help people experience familiar things in unfamiliar ways,” said Icaro Doria, Founder and Chief Creative Officer at KIDS. “Millions of people know Chipotle’s ingredients by how they look, taste, and smell. Very few have ever stopped to ask what they sound like. That question led us somewhere no one expected.”

For more information:
Erin Wolford
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Tel: +1 949 524 4035
Email: [email protected]
www.newsroom.chipotle.com