Fast-food giants like Chipotle and Dunkin' are doubling down on TikTok. Here are the top 7 brands winning over Gen Z customers

Dunkin and Charli D'Amelio — Irene Jiang/Business Insider/Twitter/TikTok

Fast-food chains like Chipotle and Dunkin’ are trying to use TikTok to win over Gen Z customers.
UBS ranked chains by how their total number of TikTok followers in a recent report.
Chipotle led the way, followed by Dunkin’ and Wendy’s.
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Fast-food chains are desperate to win over Gen Z. And, they’re going to TikTok to try and win over these younger customers.

Dunkin’ penned a deal with TikTok star Charli D’Amelio in September, launching a new drink called “The Charli.” The collaboration boosted Dunkin’ app downloads by 57% and meaningfully increased cold brew sales, according to a UBS report on Tuesday. Dunkin’ has continued to double down on TikTok, creating a “crew ambassadors” program to pay workers to post TikTok videos.

Chipotle was an early TikTok adopter, launching challenge campaigns to connect with customers. The McDonald’s Travis Scott meal inadvertently became a TikTok meme as customers ordered the deal by blasting Scott’s “Sicko Mode.”

“TikTok’s rapidly growing platform has proven to be a highly effective marketing tool for reaching new customers (in particular younger demographic), building a loyal base, and potentially unlocking sales growth,” UBS’s Dennis Geiger wrote in the report on restaurant chains and social media.

UBS analyzed which brands were winning on TikTok. Here are the top seven, ranked by follower count as of the end of August.

1. Chipotle