Taco Bell is back with its Cheesy Fiesta and Spicy Potato Soft Taco potatoes
Taco Bell
Taco Bell wants to reclaim its vegetarian customers.
The Yum Brands chain is resurrecting its popular potatoes and will be testing a menu item with a Beyond Meat substitute after last year’s menu cuts disappointed its meatless customer base.
Taco Bell eliminated eight menu options in two rounds of cuts to help simplify its operations when the coronavirus pandemic resulted in long lines to its boost. Outbreaks of the cult favorite Mexican pizza and other products angered vegetarians, who have fewer fast food options to choose from, though the chain said it still had more than 30 meatless ingredients available.
“We definitely knew we would listen to our fans for some of the things we eliminated, but we knew we had to do it to make sure the team members had the best experience,” said Liz Matthews, principal. Taco Bell food company official innovation.
Starting March 11, customers will be able to order Spicy Potato Soft Taco and Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes for the first time since their release in September. The soft taco potato filling was popular with meatless customers.
Matthews said the chain is planning new menu items using these potatoes. For customers hoping to return items like the Nachos Supreme, the chain has no plans to retrieve any other items at this time.
In another call for vegetarian customers, Taco Bell plans to try an item made with a vegetarian substitute Beyond Meat this year. For now, Taco Bell stands firm with the way it is used.
“I would say it will be exclusive to the things you’ve seen elsewhere, so we’ll definitely put our Taco Bell innovation in and influence it,” Matthews said.
In 2019, as the trend of herbal meat took over, US Chief of Operations Julie Felss Masino told CNBC that the chain had met with Beyond and its rival Impossible Foods , but who decided to follow his own vegetarian options. Masino is now president of Taco Bell International.
Taco Bell is a brand that we don’t want to do what everyone else does, “Matthews said.” We want to do it in our own unique way. “
Yum is expected to present its fourth-quarter results on Feb. 4, which would include for the first time the impact of Taco Bell’s menu cuts. In the third quarter of the burritos chain, it recorded a 3% growth in sales in the same store.
Yum’s shares have risen 7% over the past year, giving it a market value of more than $ 32 billion. Its U.S. restaurants, which include KFC and Pizza Hut, have seen their in-store sales grow again, but international locations remained under pressure in the third quarter.