A Taco Bell restaurant rises along a Queens street on July 21, 2021 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
The latest subscription service does not allow you to stream TV shows or movies. It’s for Taco Bell tacos.
Guests with the Lover’s Pass Taco can order a crispy taco, a soft taco, a soft spicy potato taco or a Doritos Locos taco a day for 30 consecutive days at the chain’s app. The cost of the pass ranges from $ 5 to $ 10 a month, depending on location. Yum Brands is testing the show at 17 locations in Tucson, Arizona from September 9 to November 24.
Other restaurant chains have also launched similar subscription programs, with mixed success. Burger King, of Restaurant Brand International, launched a $ 5-a-month coffee subscription in 2019 to help promote its breakfast menu, but stopped it several months later. Privately owned Panera Bread launched its own version in 2020 that offered unlimited tea and coffee for $ 8.99 a month and the first three months for free. Less than a year later, the program had nearly half a million paying subscribers.
Like Burger King and Panera, Taco Bell probably expects regular visits to its restaurants by customers, building habits over the 30-day period. Because a cue doesn’t fill up enough for most consumers, they can also add more to their orders.
The pass could encourage more consumers to download and use the Taco Bell app. The chain launched a loyalty program through its app more than a year ago. Executives at Yum’s latest earnings call said members of Taco Bell’s loyalty spend 35% more on their visits compared to their spending habits before joining the program.
Shares of Yum, which also owns KFC and Pizza Hut, have risen 18% this year, bringing their market value to $ 37.9 billion.