2018 has been a huge year for innovation over at Taco Bell. The fast food chain has rolled out a number of interesting innovations, ranging from the menu to the way the customer gets it. Early in 2018, Taco Bell spokesperson Matt Price stated that “Taco Bell will definitely be innovating more in 2018”.
It seems that they held up on their side of the promise; Taco Bell unveiled self-serving kiosks and Nacho Fries early in 2018. They also unleashed the wrath of the Double Cheesy Gordita Crunch, something that has redefined the way that customers look at the fast food industry.
The brand also offered a number of $1 limited time offer items on their menu. Taco Bell started off on the right foot with the highly anticipated Nacho Fries.
However, Taco Bell is redefining more than its menu. This past June, the brand also celebrated the Canadian release of its beverage, Baja Blast. It did so by traveling around in an Airstream trailer offering pedestrians free products.
Taco Bell also created a Demolition Man pop-up restaurant for customers to visit. The theme of the pop-up restaurant was the future. This is due to the fact that the movie Demolition Man, was based in the future and stated that it won the “franchise wars”. Although it was only able to serve 1,500, over 10 thousand visitors came to the pop-up restaurant. These methods may seem a little unorthodox, but the marketing tactics seem to be working.
Taco Bell recently became the fourth largest fast food company, beating out Burger King. The fast food chain is also growing rapidly. In 2017, Taco Bell opened over 400 new locations in 5 new countries. This leaves Taco Bell with a grand total of over 7000 restaurants around the globe. All of this rapid growth has been good for the Yum! Brands, which is a subsidiary of Taco Bell. This rapid growth may be one of the reasons the Yum! Brand’s stock hit an all-time high in October 2018.
It is clear that Taco Bell is one of the most innovative franchises in the QSR industry. They provide customers with innovative menu items at an affordable price, all without sacrificing the flavor. Taco Bell has also offered a wide variety of unique marketing tactics outside of their regular restaurants. Some examples of this are the recent Baja Blast campaign and the Demolition Man pop-up restaurant. However, it is obvious that all of this innovation is doing some good, as Taco Bell (and its subsidiary, Yum! Brands) have seen rapid growth within the past year. With all of this in mind, one can only wonder what Taco Bell has in store for customers in 2019. Although we can’t know for sure, we can only imagine that it will be innovative and continue to refine the QSR industry.
For more information about Taco Bell’s recent innovations in the QSR industry, feel free to contact the quick service experts at Emerge!.