El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. said it’s granting $100,000 to serve as a jumpstart to continued aid for Latina-owned businesses.
The Costa Mesa-based grilled chicken chain (Nasdaq: LOCO), with a recent market cap of $588 million, said it’s working with WeAllGrow Latina Network, an online community linking brands with influencers, to funnel the initial $100,000 investment to help Los Angeles, Latina food- and restaurant-related businesses.
El Pollo Loco said it’s calling for further support from the community through its EPL Charities and Go Fund Me for additional monies to continue the momentum.
The company also said it’s working with WeAllGrow Latina on a database of U.S. Latina-owned small businesses.
The moves are all being done in conjunction with Hispanic Heritage Month, which started in mid-September.
The company’s made it a point more recently to focus its marketing on its L.A. start. That translated into the launch of a new line of four different burrito options, under the name L.A. Mex Burritos. In March, it commissioned a mural for its East L.A. restaurant, which was a follow-up to a mural that went up in late 2019 at the first El Pollo Loco on Alvarado Street in MacArthur Park.
Working in tandem with all of that is a big focus on the company’s digital marketing efforts, which saw the signing on of Interpublic Group of Co.’s Initiative in the summer to be its media agency of record, overseeing a $30 million business. As more quick-serve operators see customers rely on digital channels to order, perks and inventive ways of serving customers are the tools to compete and complement other marketing. Earlier this month, El Pollo Loco launched a revamped Loco Rewards loyalty program nationally, allowing customers to rack up points: 1 point for every $1 spent.
