Taco Bell’s popular nacho fries are the company’s most successful product launch ever. Customers have bought more than 53 million orders of the spicy cheesy concoction since it hit the menu in January.
But the dollar-item isn’t the only big hit for the company. The Mexican fast food chain is known for churning out innovative food products such as its quesalupa, quesarito, or the naked egg taco.
Cheddar got an exclusive bite of some of the new menu items in the pipeline at Taco Bell’s test kitchen in Los Angeles, including a “toasted cheese chalupa,” a taco made of aged cheddar cheese, scheduled to roll out next year.
The company launches about 10 to 11 new menu items a year, according to Product Development Manager Rene Pisciotti.
“We’ll start with the...prototypes. We’ll vet them, [then] we’ll start to put them through to guests,” explained Pisciotti.
If an idea does well in the initial testing rounds with small groups of consumers, Taco Bell then eventually rolls the product out to test markets.
“We run about 40 to 50 test markets a year.”
But a strong product is only one ingredient for Taco Bell’s overall success. Another is smart, buzzy marketing that stays authentic to the brand.
For example, the launch campaign for the nacho fries ran in the style of a movie trailer that asked the question on everyone’s mind: “Why doesn’t Taco Bell do fries?”
“When we’re going to do anything from a food innovation standpoint, it has to feel uniquely and appropriately Taco Bell,” said Chief Marketing Officer Marisa Thalberg.
“I think you have to be very careful that you don’t think you’re doing something for the sake of buzz. [If] an idea itself is exciting, it touches people, it makes people want to talk, it makes people want to share.”
And the proof is in the...fries.
Former CEO Brian Niccol recently left the company to take over at struggling rival Chipotle after successfully turning around Taco Bell. Same store sales grew by two percent in Q4 and its parent company, Yum Brands, posted profit that beat expectations.
A new mobile app has launched just in time for Valentine's Day. Our.Love bills itself as an A.I.-powered, gamified, relationship wellness app for couples. The app is set in what the company calls the Coupleverse, a virtual world where each couple can build a virtual relationship home as they also build their real-world relationship. Founder and CEO Tal Zlotnitsky joined Cheddar to discuss how the app works. "The concept behind Our.Love is to give people the opportunity to understand where they stand in their relationship through very simple metrics that we provide within the app that will help them in real-time, see where they stand, see where their partner is, and be able to get closer together," he said.
The Super Bowl is just 48 hours away and things are definitely heating up in the social media space, especially on Twitter. Fans across the country are quickly engaging in color commentary as they call it, and actively sharing their views on who's expected to take the big win, which players they are looking forward to seeing. Senior Sports Partner Manager at Twitter, David Herman, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Director and producer Ivan Reitman passed away over the weekend at the age of 75. The filmmaker was the mastermind behind some of America's favorite films such as "Ghostbusters". Reitman’s family released a statement explaining how they are comforted by the lives he has touched through his films.
The 21st Annual Food Network and Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF), is returning to Miami on February 24 with proceeds to benefit the future leaders of the hospitality industry. Lee Schrager, the founder and director of the festival, and Food Network star Jeff Mauro joined Cheddar News to discuss what ticket holders can expect, how the festival benefits students, and how Mauro will be paying tribute to fellow food celebrity, Guy Fieri, by hosting a charity auction dinner. "I mean there's nobody bigger, nobody more magnetic right now in the food space than Guy," Maura said. "I mean the guy had a Super Bowl commercial on last night. That's a dream of mine, so I'm one step closer there just by doing a tight 20 minutes at his tribute dinner."
Jeff Softley, direct to consumer president at Experian, joins Cheddar News to discuss what it means to be credit invisible, how big of an issue this is in the U.S., and what resources are out there to bridge this gap.
