THE NAME GAME: The Wrap Goes Boloco

The restaurant previously known as The Wrap, which mysteriously removed its name from its Mount Auburn Street location two weeks ago, officially changed its name to Boloco Inspired Burritos on Tuesday.

The name change to Boloco—short for “Boston Local Company”—was motivated in part by the Boston-based burrito shop’s plans to expand nationally. A name as generic as The Wrap cannot be legally protected under trademark laws.

“We currently have 10 locations, and as we hope to expand, we didn’t want a name that couldn’t be protected,” said CEO and co-founder John S. Pepper.

Pepper also said the name change resulted from a mismatch between what his restaurants served and what the name The Wrap portrayed, which he thought presented a major problem in attracting new customers.

“Our customers told us that what we served wasn’t what they thought of as wraps,” Pepper said. “Wraps are cold, deli meat sandwiches that are frankly uninspiring. The name The Wrap didn’t reveal what we really do.”

Pepper said he believes the name Boloco will better represent the restaurant as a whole, both in its products and clientele.

“The name has a bit of a Latin flair with ‘loco,’ reflecting what our menu focuses on—inspired burritos,” Pepper said. “Furthermore, Boloco—Boston Local Company—is a tribute to the city of Boston and our customers who gave us a chance to be successful.”

In addition to its name change, Boloco plans to make some revisions to its menu, which currently consists of burritos, salads, soups, and smoothies. A new burrito will be added in December, and some of the ingredients in existing options will be altered.

“Our chicken and steak will have new rubs to create a flavor profile that will make our burritos taste much better,” Pepper said.

The Stellar Restaurant Group, which owns Boloco, chose the new name by conducting surveys with the help of a consulting team. The survey subjects had never heard of The Wrap and were asked to rank their preferences for six potential restaurant names.

“The Wrap was included in our name survey and Boloco still came out on top,” Pepper said. “Boloco was preferred three times to The Wrap, which came out fifth on the list of six.”

Some students, however, were less enthusiastic about the change.

“It’s just my gut reaction that is a bad name,” said Sam Ray ’08. “I would describe it as a sort of bumbling word and I think people will struggle with the intonation of it as well.”

Harvard Business School Associate Professor Luc R. Wathieu said it is critical for customers to find the new name appealing for a name change of this sort to be successful.

“The reason people are loyal to a brand is because of all the connotations and associations that go with the name,” Wathieu said. “The question then is, do the associations that travel with the new name appeal to customers as well?”

Sara M. Sedgwick ’06 speculated that the change was spurred by The Wrap “losing all their business to Felipe’s.”

Others said they were confused by the change and assumed Boloco was an entirely different restaurant.

“One day it was The Wrap and the next week it was Boloco,” said Lulu Wang ’06. “There was no explanation for the name change so I thought it had changed ownership.”

“I was wondering if the company is the same, if all the nutritional info was the same,” said Erin L. Frey ’08. “I was wondering if they still take Crimson Cash.”

In order to promote the new name and raise awareness of Boloco, the restaurant chain will have a series of free burrito days at its Boston locations. The Mount Auburn Street location will offer free burritos on Wednesday, Nov. 30, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The consensus among most students was that they will continue to call the restaurant The Wrap.

“I don’t care what the sign says—it will always be The Wrap to me,” Wang said.

—Carmen E. James and Simon W. Vozick-Levinson contributed to the reporting of this story.

—Staff writer Carolyn A. Sheehan can be reached at csheehan@fas.harvard.edu.