Chipotle is focused on increasing its cultural relevance — and that means connecting with sports fans and gamers.

The restaurant chain is launching the free video game “Race to Rewards” on Wednesday,  in which players can score rewards that they can redeem at a Chipotle by navigating an electric car, electric bike, or electric skateboard through a terrain filled with hazards (artificial flavors) and rewards (chips).

• The video game will be live for 48 hours and top point-getter wins a 2021 Tesla 3.
• The site hosting the game — racetorewards.com — works on mobile and desktop.
• Chipotle is also throwing in 1 million bags of chips for participants.

“With everything we do, we look for the intersection of culture and Chipotle,” Chris Brandt, Chipotle’s chief marketing officer, told FOS. “Eighties video games are a thing right now, so we built our own custom game.”

Gaming has become a key way for Chipotle to connect with customers, particularly through the Chipotle Challenger Series esports events. This month, the company also expanded its partnership with Twitch.

The restaurant chain is also teaming up with athletes through its custom bowl series. Consumers can order a dish designed by a particular athlete, such as Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic or the Los Angeles Sparks’ Nneka Ogwumike.

“Sports has been a very good audience for us,” said Brandt. “It’s a way to generate a lot of broad reach.” 

Chipotle’s digital sales grew from $1 billion in 2019 to $2.8 billion in 2020, and Brandt expects that trend to continue. Revenue increased 23.4% year-over-year in Q1 to $1.7 billion, half of it from digital sales.

At-home fitness companies surged during the pandemic, but now they’re facing competition from the rivals they temporarily replaced: gyms.

Gym chains like Planet Fitness, 24 Hour Fitness, and Orange Theory are seeing a long-awaited revival — partly at the expense of Peloton and other at-home brands.

• Research firm Jefferies found that traffic at gyms is at 83% of January 2020 levels and down just 6% from January 2019. 
• Website visits are up for many gyms as people renew memberships and examine COVID-related policies.
• Another study from Placer.ai found that gym visits in March were down 21% from that period in 2019, though up 45% from 2020. Foot traffic to gyms grew 21.6% from February to March.

That might be bad news for Peloton and other at-home fitness companies like Hydrow, Mirror, and Tonal.

Peloton expects $4 billion in revenue for its fiscal year and reported a net loss of $8.6 million in the quarter ending March 31, despite year-over-year sales growth of 141%. The company is launching offerings targeted at office workers as it adjusts to the post-pandemic economy.

Web searches for home fitness equipment like weights and yoga mats have fallen from their pandemic highs last spring but remain elevated compared with pre-pandemic years.

California, the country’s most populous state, could cause another uptick in gym memberships. The state lifted the last of its indoor-capacity limits on June 15, allowing businesses to return to pre-pandemic rules.

The trading cards industry is hotter than ever with no signs of slowing down. 

Topps, a leading producer of sports trading cards, reported $166.6 million in sales for its fiscal quarter ending April 3. 

The $59.3 million increase compared to the same period a year prior was driven by the company’s sports and entertainment business, which saw sales reach $103.2 million, a 105.3% uptick compared to fiscal Q1 2020.

Topps expects 2021 sales to range between $740 million and $760 million. Last year’s sales were $567 million. 

The growth of Topps is one of many signs of a thriving consumer category.

• eBay’s “State of Trading Cards” report revealed a 142% increase in domestic sales with more than 4 million cards sold on its website in 2020 compared to a year prior. 
• A 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card auctioned through a private sale recently sold for $5.2 million, a record for sports cards.
• Earlier this year, Goldin Auctions, an auction house for collectibles, announced a $40 million fundraise led by The Chernin Group. Goldin grossed over $100 million in 2020.
• Topps is going public via a merger with Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corp II, a blank-check company, valuing the company at $1.3 billion. Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry and former USWNT soccer coach Jill Ellis will be on the company’s board.

However, the frenzy over trading cards comes with downsides. 

Last month, Target temporarily removed trading cards from brick-and-mortar locations following an altercation at one of its Wisconsin stores over the highly coveted collectibles.

France is the favorite to win Euro 2020, despite a potentially bankrupt domestic league.

France’s Ligue 1 looked set for a massive come-up when upstart broadcaster MediaPro agreed to a $1.2 billion per year contract last season. Then MediaPro skipped its payments and the deal was terminated after four months. In mediation, MediaPro agreed to fork over just $121 million to resolve the issue.

Ligue 1 also lost out on revenue from its canceled season due to the pandemic.

In hopes of recovering from the financial fallout, Ligue 1 granted Amazon and Canal+ joint broadcasting rights for the upcoming season.

• Amazon will pay $302.6 million per year for eight matches from each round of Ligue 1. 
• Canal+ would pay almost $400 million for two games each week — roughly $100 million more than Amazon for four times fewer games.
• Following the league’s announcement, Canal+ — which has covered Ligue 1 since its inception in 1984 — objected to the deal.

“After the failure of the choice of Mediapro in 2018, Canal+ regrets the French professional league’s decision to pick Amazon’s proposal,” Canal+ said. “Canal+ will not, therefore, be broadcasting Ligue 1.”

It gets worse: Players could leave, too, if there’s not enough money. “If you are not able to renegotiate player salaries, you are risking bankruptcy,” said Pierre Mae, author of a soccer rights book.

Canal+ vocalized that it has no intentions to pay on its first due date in August, but a league board member said that action could be taken within 15 days under French law.

France plays Portugal in its final group-stage match on Wednesday, following a win over Germany and tie with Hungary.