There's a lot about Taco Bell's breakfast menu you might already know, but even the
most dedicated Bell-heads can learn a thing or two.
Prepare for a deep dive into the world of early-morning fast food eats.
This is the untold truth of Taco Bell's breakfast game.
Taco Bell knew that in order to lead people away from a life full of McGriddles and Croissan'wiches,
they needed some kind of creative marketing strategy unlike any before.
So they launched the largest marketing campaign of their existence, kept their fingers crossed,
and then watched as the ball swished into the net.
For as long as people could remember, McDonald's had a firm grip on the breakfast game.
But when the massive unveiling of Taco Bell's breakfast menu hit on March 27th, 2014, they
gave McDonald's a run for their money.
In the quarterly report that followed the launch, David Novak, the then-CEO of parent
company Yum!
Brands, noted that:
"[Taco Bell was] one of the few companies in the history of the QSR industry to launch
breakfast successfully and profitably in year one."
The popularity makes one wonder why breakfast wasn't part of Taco Bell's repertoire from
the very beginning, but they had a specific reason for leaving it off.
They sat back to see how the breakfast landscape played out among competitors and once they
realized it was a goldmine, they set their sights on a prize.
What happens when you glance at the clock and realize you missed the 10:30 a.m. cutoff
of nearly every fast food place around?
You could trudge over to McDonald's again for their all-day breakfast, or you can take
a much-needed detour to the nearest Taco Bell, because they have your morning munchies covered
later than many of their competitors.
While competitors like Burger King give customers a hard cutoff at 10:30., Taco Bell extends
breakfast until 11 a.m.
The hours of operation vary by location, so be warned if you're looking for a super early
meal, you might want to call before you haul.
But, once they do open, that menu stays up until 11 in the morning.
In a world where frugality is the name of the game, you don't want to rush out of the
door and stress about the expense of breakfast possibly taking a toll on your wallet.
We don't want to splurge on breakfast knowing we might not have enough left over for a satisfying
lunch.
It's a debacle no one wants to confront, but Taco Bell offers an answer.
At Taco Bell, you can use pocket change to obtain some pretty satisfying items, like
a Grilled Breakfast Burrito.
Or add to that Grilled Breakfast Burrito with Fiesta Potatoes.
You can get one of seven breakfast menu items priced at one dollar at Taco Bell, depending
on your location.
Not only can you get the above options, but if you're at the right Taco Bell, you can
also leave with an order of Cinnabon delights, a soft breakfast taco, a flatbread quesadilla,
or a mini skillet bowl.
Sounds too good to be true.
Grabbing a quick bite at the local fast food joint isn't the way to get a ripped bod.
But sometimes convenience takes precedence, and Taco Bell's breakfast is certainly convenient.
Just know when you decide to indulge, you're not exactly loading your body up with the
nutritional equivalent of kale.
"You wanna do something fun?
You wanna go to Taco Bell?"
"I can't go to Taco Bell, I'm on an all carb diet!"
As delicious as Taco Bell is, we know the name isn't synonymous with health.
Some of us don't mind a little saturated fat in the morning, but for those who keep a detailed
notebook of calorie counts, the menu options are limited.
Sure, you could restrict yourself to their coffee which lands at a measly 10 calories,
but that's just not sustainable.
Unfortunately, simply munching down some hash browns won't really keep you going either,
but if you're looking to order the healthiest item, those golden fried patties are the play.
Just know you're packing roughly 160 calories into your body, which might not sit well with
your Crossfit instructor.
Plenty of people who opt out of breakfast every morning slam an energy drink instead
of actual nutrition.
But what if there was an energy drink made to pair with food instead of acting as its
replacement?
That's a question Taco Bell pondered.
Then they unleashed the fuel beast.
It's called Kickstart, and you can thank the lovely people at Mountain Dew for giving the
world the morning jolt it needs.
What exactly does Kickstart taste like?
Well, imagine Mountain Dew met up with orange juice on top of a hill, and then an orange-flavored
carbonated drink came rolling down.
Is soda really the best thing to pair with Taco Bell on your way to the office, though?
There's only one way to find out.
When it comes to quick-service breakfast, for the longest time, McDonald's reigned supreme.
They offer a quick energy boost with the McCafe, the enticing pancake-bunned McGriddle, and
the famous Egg McMuffin.
But now that Taco Bell's a player in the game, those shiny Golden Arches look a little tarnished.
Although it might seem like there's no toppling the almighty McEmpire, Taco Bell's proven
otherwise.
This quote from Steve Easterbrook, Mcdonald's CEO since 2015, says it all:
"When you look at our breakfast performance overall, [...] we've just begun to lose a
little bit of share at that daypart."
The erosion of McDonald's numbers signal a change in the breakfast race, which was once
owned by those all-encompassing Golden Arches.
Now, Taco Bell is in the lane next to them and giving them a run for their money.
Whether people like their coffee dark roast, light roast, sugar-filled, with creamer, or
black, they'll say they owe much of their morning productivity to those brewed beans.
At Taco Bell, however, even the people at the top of the corporate ladder admit their
coffee isn't a selling point.
Senior vice president of brand and marketing Melissa Friebe admitted to Forbes that lots
of people who come to Taco Bell looking for breakfast see coffee on the menu and think:
"Uh, no way am I drinking that Taco Bell coffee, where the hell is the nearest Dunkin'?"
But Taco Bell holds their head up high and knows just because their coffee game might
suffer, the rest of the menu makes up for it, causing consumers to forget about the
comfortable morning routine coffee offers.
Friebe admitted:
"Our creative products have done really well, so that has been a pleasant surprise for us.
[...] Based on what our consumers said they wanted, we've done better than expected."
People feel like they've seen it all, and more importantly, eaten it all.
But, every once in a while, something entirely unique hits the market that causes so much
buzz you can't help but want to be part of the craze.
And that's exactly what the Waffle Taco did.
While some people only saw a cool idea, Taco Bell's director of product development, Heather
Mottershaw, saw lightning in a bottle.
After showing the idea to the creative team, Taco Bell went through 80 potential variations
before settling on a winner.
Mottershaw said:
"As soon as the team started to see it, there was this instant excitement, this buzz that
this is a cool idea, this is a big idea."
Now if you feel the excitement of the Waffle Taco quickly building in your gut, you have
to shelve that craving.
The item sadly came and it went.
It's now a distant but delicious memory for those lucky enough to have indulged while
it lasted.
Will Taco Bell ever re-release the epic creation?
It's hard to say.
But until then you can grab yourself a box of Eggos and MacGyver your own.
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